Animaniacs: Nocturnus
by Rabbit '91
Summary: Set just after the original series. The Warners meet a new friend from the Real World after she's forcibly warped there and pass her off as a 'wannabe', but they quickly find that there's something odd about her. Something potentially dark and dangerous.
1. Prelude

**AN: Gentlemen...BEHOLD!**

**A couple of things to say. This thing was NOT easy to write and took me a year to actually put it together. This is my first attempt at an Animaniacs-themed fanfic so please kind to it. I will NOT tollerate any flaming. Other then that I hope you enjoy :)**

**Disclaimor: Animaniacs does not belong to me. It belongs to Warner Bros. Rem, Dr. Frankeninni, Omri, and Seth belong to me.**

* * *

**~Animaniacs: Nocturnus~**

***Act I***

_He worked silently and passionately on his new 'project' deep within his hidden lab. This was going to be his coup de grace. The studio would want to have these 'new toons' as part of their new animation roster. They would be so great, that they would have no choice BUT to acquire them, lest a competing rival studio get their hands on them. Perhaps maybe Disney. Instead of wasting unwanted material, He decided to keep the prototypes as hired help. They certainly were useful when they were originally thought to be worthless._

_"This time," the mad doctor rasped from his dry throat. "it shall be a success! This one will turn out more superior than the others I have created!"_

_"How will that be sir?" His assistant asked in a monotone-like voice, expressing his curiosity._

_"Simple. I've lacked personality to the previous toons I have created and it shows since you cannot feel any emotion at all."_

_The assistant continued to stare at his creator with a deadpan expression._

_"Therefore, I'm going to add a little magic into this new one. But not anything like that Disney rubbish. I'm going to summon a soul from another world to inhabit the body. __Then if this is successful-and it WILL be-I will make more of them! And then at last, I shall retain my former glory!"_

_Crackling laughter began to fill and echo in the cavern walls, disturbing the bats hanging there and causing them to flutter out into the night._


	2. They're Totally Insaney

***Chapter 1: They're Totally Insane-y***

_=The Toon World=_

The golden yellow sun came soaring up into the blue sky on another morning in beautiful Burbank, California. Work in the Warner Bros. studio began again like clock-work. Employees going in and out of buildings and sound stages. Ralph letting in actors, directors, and other workers through the front gates, and of course, Mr. Thaddeus Plotz yelling at anyone who didn't meet his demands or expectations. No sooner did the day began, the Water Tower's door slowly opened and its residents carefully peaked out to see if the coast was clear.

_It's time for Animaniacs! And we're_

_zany to the max!_

The three cartoon kids were of course the infamous Warner siblings. The children in which the studio had tried desperately to lock away and conceal their existence in order to have the lot work in a good, quiet, and orderly manner, but ultimately failed. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, after making sure no one was looking their way, jumped out from the interior of the Water Tower they came to call home. Then Wakko pulled a helium gas tank out from his gag bag and quickly blew up a big bright red balloon. The two brothers and their little sister grabbed ahold of the balloon and gracefully floated downwards and releasing the floating nylon object once their feet touched the ground.

_So just back and relax, you'll laugh _

_'til you collapse. We're Animaniacs!_

The three Warners quickly sped off to wreak their own brand havoc on the lot as much as they could before they would be eventually caught. A female typist was getting a coffee and Danish in the studio commissary when the zany trio had suddenly appeared at her side. The brothers instantly hit on the unsuspecting typist.

"HEELLLLLLOOOOO, NURSE!"

Dot was easily miffed by her brothers' amorous actions.

"Boys..go fig." she muttered.

_Come join the Warner Brothers, and_

_the Warner Sister, Dot. Just for fun, _

_we run around the Warner movie lot._

Yakko and Wakko leapt into the typist's arms who lifted them out of human instinct.

"How 'bout a kiss?" Wakko asked, promptly pressing his lips together to which the typist leaned away from.

"Ya know, you shouldn't drink so much coffee." Yakko pointed out. "It'll stunt your growth."

"HEY YOU KIDS!"

Ralph, the bumbling security guard, had come up to the commissary for a donut when he caught the siblings disturbing the typist. As soon as the Warners saw him, they panicked slightly.

"Yipe!" they cried in unison before taking off.

_They lock us in the tower whenever we_

_get caught. But we break loose and then _

_vamoose and now you know the plot! We're_

_Animaniacs!_

The Warners zipped through the commissary, making napkins, plastic utensils, and condiments fall to the floor in their wake. Ralph was quick to chase after them with his net handy. They all got outside onto the lot with the round guard relentlessly pursuing the siblings. In quick witted thinking, Wakko whipped a spare door from his gag bag and placed it against a brick wall and went inside it. When Ralph tried to do the same, he instead slammed into the wall, making him instantly dizzy with a small group of stars floating around his head.

_Dot is cute and Yakko yacks. Wakko_

_packs away the snacks while Bill Clinton_

_plays the sax. We're Animaniacs!_

While the Warners were once more wreaking havoc on the studio lot, in another part of the area was the Acme Labs. Inside was a pair of albino mice. One happily playing in a wheel, the other pacing slowly back and forth deep in thought.

_Meet Pinky and the Brain who want_

_to rule the universe._

The mouse in the wheel saw his companion coming back his way again and decided to strike a conversation.

"Gee Brain, what are we gonna do tonight?"

The other mouse with the larger cranium paused.

"The same thing we do every night, Pinky." he said lowly. "TRY TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD!"

Pinky climbed out of the wheel and began to follow Brain around the cage as he continued to pace back and forth. Searching his large mind for a flawless plan for world domination. In another place, and in a local park, three pigeons sat casually on a statue of the great director, Martin Scorsese.

_Goodfeathers flock together..._

The trio sat on the statue, making certain that their rivals, the sparrows, would not steal their prized post.

"Those stupid sparrows ain't touchin' this statue!" Pesto declared. "They don't give us any respect!"

"No respect at all." Bobby agreed, lightly swiping his beak with his wing. "You know what I'm sayin'?"

Pesto, in small bout of rage, ruffled his feathers and got all puffed up.

"Oooo, I'd like to bop one of them Sparrows in the beak." he fumed.

"Yeah, Pesto." Squit said cheerfully. "You're quite the fighter."

The multicolor eyed bird turned and glared at his perpetually smiling associate.

"Whaddya mean by that?" Pesto demanded.

"Well...I'm just sayin' you're a fighter..." Squit replied nervously.

"I'm a fighter? What am I some boxing wrestling celebrity, _here to amuse you?_"

"No, I'm not sayin' that!"

"_I am a fighter?_"

"Yeah...you're a fighter."

Pesto's puffed up body squirmed with rage until he finally snapped.

"_THAT'S IT!_" he roared. "_A FIGHTER? I'LL GIVE YOU A FIGHTER!_"

The purple headed pigeon promptly jumped the unfortunate Squit with Bobby laughing hysterically at them. In another part of Burbank, was a tall tree transformed into a house.

_...Slappy wacks 'em with her purse._

The _tree house_ was inhabited by the aging Slappy Squirrel and her eccentric nephew, Skippy. They were both in the living room watching the television set with the elder squirrel on her blue chair and the youngster sitting on the rug. They were both enjoying a program until a commercial break abruptly interrupted it.

"Ehhhh, T.V. ain't what it used to be..." Slappy ranted.

"Whaddya mean, Aunt Slappy?" Skippy asked curiously.

"Too many commercials. Back in my day, there was only one or two commercials on the tube. Plus the writing and acting stinks."

Skippy's attention was quickly averted from his elderly aunt by an infomercial advertising a brand new snack product that seemed to be very sugary.

"Oh boy!" the youngster squealed with his eyes glued to the T.V. screen.

Slappy raised an eyebrow at the ad and slid out of her chair.

"Ahhh, that junk will just rot your brain out, Skippy." she spat. "What you need is some nice delicious walnuts that'll feed your I.Q."

The aging squirrel walked into her kitchen and searched her cabinets for walnut. However they all turned out to be empty.

"Hmmm, looks like I'm out of walnuts." Slappy mused. "Well I guess it's time to pay another visit to Doug the Dog. Heh-heh."

"Are ya sure you wanna do that, Aunt Slappy?" Skippy asked.

"Why not? It's a beautiful day, I bet he'll enjoy the company. Heh, heh, heh, heh. Ahhh."

Slappy took her umbrella and purse and left her house with Skippy tagging alongside her. In the same park, a little blonde haired female toddler named Mindy, was cheerfully and excitedly chasing a bright yellow butterfly while her faithful dog, Buttons, went after her every move in fear of her getting into serious trouble. After Slappy and Skippy passed by a house in a suburban neighborhood, another dog with a feline companion searched a garbage can for scraps.

_Buttons chases Mindy, while Rita_

_sings a verse._

Unfortunately for them, what was found in the can was none too pleasing. Rita let out a heaving sigh.

"Could be worse." she said.

"Yeah, duh-definitely worse." Runt agreed. "Duh-definitely."

Back at the studio, the Warners had successfully made a mess out of nearly everything. They zipped by the Administration building where they were finally caught by Ralph. A few minutes later, the studio's psychiatrist was called into Mr. Plotz's office.

"SCRATCHANSNIFF!" the little CEO roared. "THOSE WARNERS ARE MAKING A WREAK OF THE STUDIO!"

"I know..." Dr. Scratchansniff muttered.

He did not want anything to do with the Warner siblings as much as anyone else. It was even more stressful on the poor doctor when the chairman of the board yelled at him to do something about it. Especially since it was quite impossible to do so.

"I WANT YOU TO DEZANITIZE THOSE WARNERS, SCRATCHANSNIFF!" Plotz angrily continued.

"But I-" the psychiatrist protested.

"NO BUTS SCRATCHANSNIFF! DO IT!"

With that, the CEO literally kicked Dr. Scratchansniff out of his office. The doctor let out a sad sigh and then a frustrated growl.

_The writers' flipped, we have no _

_script, why bother to rehearse? We're_

_Animaniacs! We have pay for play _

_contracts._

It's Mime Time. Today on Mime Time, scaling an imaginary wall.

The mime charaded climbing a wall until a huge anvil suddenly came out of nowhere and slammed the mime into the ground.

The End.

_We're zany to the max, there's _

_baloney in our slacks. We're _

_Animan-y, totally insane-y. Here's_

_the show's name-y. A-ni-ma-ni-acs!_

_Those are the facts!_

* * *

**AN: Sorry if I didn't have enough Pinky and the Brain action T-T**


	3. Just a Girl in the World

***Chapter 2: Just a Girl in the World***

_=The Real World=_

In another place and time, was the rainy city of Palm Springs. It was early June and the Coachella Valley was lucky enough to get rain in this time of year. People were quietly or noisily going about their routines, heading to work, school, reading the morning news paper, or listening to the new on the radio. It would be another slow summer morning. A local city bus came to one of its stops. As it gradually came to a halt, steam emitted from the tail pipe. The bus doors opened to a young teenage girl who waited silently for it to come. She had short pixie-like medium brown hair which seemed to turn somewhat black at the tips. Her eyes were a bright and piercing green. The young lady seemed a bit short for her age, yet she looked very fierce. To a point where only a fool would dare to screw with her. She wore a white tee with a black dragon image at the center of the chest area, a dark orchid sleeveless vest with the collar flapped up, and a cerulean skirt. On her arms were pale lavender silk and fabric arm gloves and black converse knee-length boots on her feet. She carried with her a back pack full of books and a black canvas and peculiar looking hockey stick case. Even more strange was the fact that she didn't play the sport as she absolutely hated athletics.

The young teenage girl quietly boarded the bus and paid the fare. She proceeded towards the back of the vehicle and took a seat. As the bus took off, she stared out the window with droplets of rain sliding down the glass. Fifteen minutes later, the bus stopped again, allowing the girl to disembark. She went out onto the sidewalk and headed for the high school. There was another girl, blond hair, grey eyes, clad in jeans and a green T-shirt, standing in front of the sign that read, _Palm Springs High School_. She carried with her an umbrella in one hand, and a large Tupperware carrier and a small gift bag in the other. As soon as she saw the emoish brunette coming her way, she immediately became excited.

"Hiya, Rem!" the blonde squealed.

She ran over to the brunette and squeezed her in a bear hug.

"Ugh...can't breathe...Alice..." Rem rasped.

"Oops, I'm so sorry, Rem." Alice apologized. "Oh! Happy Birthday!"

Rem made a sour face.

"Not so loud Alice..." she growled.

Alice thrusted her Tupperware carrier forward at her friend.

"I made you cupcakes!" she giggled cheerfully. "They're your favorite, Vanilla. Oh, and I got you a present!"

Rem's face fell. She detested these sorts of things.

"Oh Alice, you _really_ didn't need to do that." Rem moaned.

"Don't be silly!" Alice insisted. "It's your birthday after all. Go on, open your gift!"

Rem made a very depressing sigh and proceeded to take out the tissue paper from the bag. Her hand pulled out a hair clip with a fake deep blue flower and green leaves hot glued to the metal. Rem was actually caught by surprise and was at a loss for words.

"Do you like it?" Alice asked. "Blue roses _are_ your favorite flower right? I found it at _Clairs!_ I thought it would be perfect for you!"

"...I like it." Rem murmured. "Thanks, Alice."

"Oh you're welcome! Now come on, let's get indoors before we get soaked."

Alice grabbed a hold of Rem's wrist and practically dragged her inside the gym. Rem wrung a little bit of her hair out with the blue rose hair clip in her hand.

"Here, lemme put that on you." Alice suddenly said.

The blonde took the clip out of Rem's hand and fastened it securely and comfortably in the right side of her head.

"There you go!" Alice said with a smile.

Rem fingered the cerulean shaded flower in her hair. It's not that she wasn't grateful, she just didn't enjoy festivity-like occasions.

"...Thanks. Again." she muttered.

"Aw come on Rem, the least you can do is smile. It's your special day!" Alice whined.

Rem raised an eyebrow at her friend and classmate.

"You know I don't _smile_, Alice." she said lowly.

"Awww come on." Alice begged with puppy eyes. "Please?"

Rem continued to wear an absolute dead-pan expression, although it bore a hint of annoyance.

"No." she said with directness.

"Awwww, you're no fun, Rem." Alice replied, disappointed. "You're always that way. Why is that?"

Which was true. In the whole time in which Alice had known Rem, she had never seen her smile, laugh, cry, or upbeat. She always had an emotionless expression as if she were constantly in thought or meditating. She would make a very good empath.

"I'm just not that type, Alice." Rem told the bubbly blonde.

"Well you should learn to smile for heaven sakes." Alice ranted. "Oh by the way, are you taking hockey?"

She pointed to the black canvas bag in the shape of a hockey stick which Rem carried on her back along with her back pack.

"...sort of..." Rem said in a low voice.

It was a lie. But Alice didn't see it.

"Oh that's good!" she replied. "Come on, let's go before we're late for class!"

XXXXXXX

They day seemed to drag on with no end in sight. Rem was waiting impatiently for the semester to end and for summer break to begin. During lunch, she reluctantly helped herself to the cupcakes that Alice had made for her. Surprisingly, they were quite delicious. Frankly, Rem thought that Alice should take a career in culinary arts rather than archeology.

"So Rem, how does it feel to be fourteen?" Alice asked quietly so no one else would hear.

Rem basically wanted to keep her age a secret.

"I'd like to know one day from another." she answered nonchalantly.

Later on, they were among a group of other students in the music hall. While Alice was having a very lively chat with the other kids, Rem was seated in a chair playing the cello. She closed her eyes and concentrated fully on the chords of Bach's _Prelude from Suite for Unaccompanied Cello_ as her left hand moved quickly up and down the neck of the instrument while her right hand went gracefully back and forth with the bow. The other students observed her with awe and slight envy.

"My God she's good." said another girl wearing pigtails and a brown blazer.

"Isn't she though?" Alice remarked. "I keep telling her that should try out for a concert or something."

Rem continued to play until the musical piece came to an end.

"I only play for myself." she said. "I don't like showing off or competing for a lousy metal or trophy. It's just something that'll collect dust."

Rem was very cynical like that. But Alice smiled and shook her head.

"You'd still be a great cellist, Rem." she told her brunette friend.

Rem did not answer. She simply turned the page and began to play another piece from her notebook.

XXXXXXX

The final bell rang out at last allowing the high schoolers to leave and enjoy the rest of the afternoon. Going to pools, get togethers, or planning where they might spend their summer vacation. Rem and Alice left to the point where they met that morning. It had stopped raining but there was still quite an overcast.

"Did you enjoy your cupcakes?" Alice asked.

"Yeah." Rem replied. "They were very good, Alice."

"Well, I'm glad you were in a better mood today."

Of course she was in a better mood. Whenever the sun wasn't out and completely blocked off by thick clouds, Rem's behavior, however bad it may be, slightly improved.

"Well I'm off." she said.

"Wait!" Alice intervened. "I'm going to meet some friends at the _Coffee Bean._ Why don't you come with me?"

"Not this time, Alice." Rem sighed.

"Oh come on! Nobody should be alone on their birthday!"

Truthfully, Rem didn't want to be alone herself, but it was just better that way.

"No thanks Alice." she said. "Besides, I have an errand to run."

"Oh okay. See you tomorrow then!"

"See ya."

With that, the two girls went opposite directions.


	4. Dismissed Again

***Chapter 3: Dismissed Again***

_=The Toon World=_

A tall skinny middle-aged man walked into the Warner's Lot. He was clad in a white lab coat and sky blue khakis. His hair was jet black and looked very unkempt, and like it had too much gel. The man's skin looked like a very unhealthy yellow, with bags underneath his eyes. He also sported a small hump on his back. He marched right into the administration office with a couple of rolls of plans stuffed underneath his arms. Accompanying him, was another toon, but he looked very strange. He wasn't bouncy, lively, or zany. He was literally grey, with no personality or emotion at all. Quite a disturbing thing to look at, actually. He followed the man around like a lost pup until they reached their destination. Mr. Plotz's office. Who was none too happy to see the man.

"Frankeninni? I THOUGHT I FIRED YOU!" the little CEO exclaimed.

"That you have, Plotz." the man replied, smoothly. "However, I have an interesting proposition for you."

The fiery chairman of the board irritatingly raised an eyebrow. He would probably hate himself for even considering to listen to this down-and-out bum. Maybe even regret it.

"Go on..." Mr. Plotz mused.

Frankeninni grinned devilishly as he got the CEO's attention.

"Well sir," he began again. "in the past four months since...you terminated my contract, I have been working on an experiment of epic proportions!"

Mr. Plotz leaned his chin on his hand and tapped his fingers with the other one impatiently.

"I have been able to create living, breathing, toons!" Frankeninni continued with a loud and excited voice. "Behold!"

He stood aside so Plotz could see his creation. After staring at the seemingly lifeless thing, the chairman of the board slightly grimaced.

"Well, um...how was this done?" he asked, sounding a little interested.

"I have a machine in which toons are easily created!" Frankeninni declared. "Of course, there's a few bugs to work out. But nonetheless, there's no longer a need to draw the cartoons! No more shall we have to waste paper or cells to create animation! We simply press a button, and presto! Instant cartoon!"

Frankeninni had never been so excited in his life. Surely the Warner CEO would have to accept his proposition.

"That...IS THE MOST STUPID, CRACKPOT IDEA I EVER HEARD!" Plotz ranted.

Frankeninni blinked in shock. Certainly NOT the answer he was hoping for.

"But Mr. Plotz, think of all the money you can make!" he protested, trying to bait the well-known to be greedy CEO.

"And think of all the money I could _lose._" Plotz countered. "That..._thing_ you've created looked like a..a ZOMBIE! I've never seen anything more dead looking since Buster Keaton! Now you take that monstrosity and get out of my office immediately, Frankeninni!"

Frankeninni couldn't believe it. His plan to get back on top seemed absolutely fool-proof.

"You...YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" he cried.

"Oh can't I?" Plotz asked in a matter-of-fact tone.

Seconds later, Frankeninni was literally kicked out of Mr. Plotz's office with his toon drone being thrown out shortly thereafter. As he lifted himself off the ground, the Warner siblings zipped his way. They had gotten out of Dr. Scratchansniff's office during one of his sessions with him and were once again out on the studio lot. They zipped past Frankeninni but after noticing him, they zipped back towards him.

"Hey there, Frankeninni." Yakko greeted. "Got fired again?"

"RRGG...get out of my way, you little brat!" the scientist director growled as he stomped away.

The Warners watched him leave in a fury while Yakko raised an eyebrow and placed his fists on his hips.

"There's an insult if I ever heard one." he remarked.

"THERE THEY ARE!"

The trio turned their heads and saw Dr. Scratchansniff, Ralph, and Hello Nurse coming after them with nets. The siblings merely grinned their goofy grins and promptly took off.

XXXXXXX

Frankeninni stormed back to his lab which was located in a deep mountain cave south of Burbank. Tagging along with him was the drone that failed to impress Plotz.

_I'll show him. He'll rue the day he ever dismissed_ _**me**_ _from the studio!_

"What will we do now, sir?" the drone asked in a monotone voice.

"Simple." Frankeninni stated. "We move forward with our plans!"

"Does that mean we're going to create another drone, sir?"

"Not this time, Omri. This time...we create the _real thing._"

They went further down the cavern and entered a very large room-like area where a massive piece of machinery and electric equipment rested. It was the machine that Frankeninni had told Plotz about earlier. The director-turned-scientist went over to his desk, covered with papers, pencil, and tools, and slumped down in a chair, putting on a pair of glasses.

"Alright now, Omri." he began. "Switch on the second and forth levers."

The toon drone did as he was told. The giant machine whirred for a moment and then abruptly stopped.

"Oh..NOW WHAT'S THE MATTER?" Frankeninni cried.

He went over to the machine while his drone inspected it.

"Ink and paint reservoirs appear to be empty, sir." the drone told the scientist.

"Out of raw materials eh?" he replied lowly.

He scratched his black goateed chin, deep in thought. Getting the ink and paint to create the drones was hard enough. Could there be a material that would be easier to work with and create the results he was looking for? Then he remembered the Warner siblings and suddenly got an idea.

"Hmmm, I wonder what ink and paint coated DNA will create?" Frankeninni asked himself with a grin.

XXXXXXX

The Warners managed to lose their pursuers on the lot and were casually strolling around Burbank. They came to a quiet trail where trees grew the field left and right of them.

"Gee, Yakko I'm confused." Wakko said.

"What else is new?" Yakko cracked to which Dot grinned.

"No, I mean about today's show. What was the moral of the story?"

"Good question, Wakko. And to find out what it is, let's consult the Wheel of-"

_**BOOOOOOOOOOOM!**_

Surprised and caught off guard, the sibling spun around and saw Dr. Frankeninni piloting a large mobile and robotic machine with two giant claws attached. At a glance, the thing looked like a large tank with crab-like arms.

"Well there's something you don't see every day." Yakko quirked.

"Good afternoon, children." Frankeninni sneered. "I have a request to make of you."

"Which is?"

"Ohhh, nothing much. Just maybe a sample of your DNA."

The trio looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"Ehhhhhhh, I think we'll have to respectfully decline." Yakko quirked while pointing up and his siblings folding their arms.

Frankeninni merely grinned deviously at their refusal.

"Ho,ho,ho. I was _hoping_ you would say that..."

Suddenly a claw came down and attempted to grab the trio, but they managed to dodge it. Next they zipped away to a safe distance, and then they stuck their tongues out at the mad scientist.

"Sorry, Frankeninni." Yakko quirked. "But you'll have to catch us fi-ULP!"

Before the eldest Warner could finish, the claw, on a retractable cord, shot out and managed to grab all three of them. The claw then shot back into its arm.

"Delighted to." Frankeninni sneered.

He got out a tweezers and plucked out a single strand of hair from their heads, each of them uttering 'ow' as he did so. Then he released the siblings, making them fall to the ground with a plop.

"I thank you for your generous contributions to my cause, children." the doctor said in a smug tone. "Be sure to give my regards to Mr. Plotz. MREE-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA!"

With that, the vehicle transformed into a rocket propelled plane and flew away. The Warners picked themselves off the ground in a fury.

"Hey, he can't do that to us!" Dot whined. "If he thinks he can make dead-beat toons with our picture on it, he's got another thing comin'!"

"Come siblings." Yakko declared. "We've gotta take back what's rightfully ours!"

* * *

**AN: Dr. Frankeninni is a director turned mad scientist. His name is a combination of Frankenstein and Amadeo Giannini. Giannini was a guy who was the head of the Bank of America in the 30s and had some involvement with Disney's _Snow White_when it was being made.**

**Buster Keaton was a comedy actor during the silent era and had the nick-name 'Old Stone Face'.**


	5. Enter Rem

***Chapter 4: Enter Rem***

Frankeninni raced back to his cavern lab as fast as he could, eager to try out theory. There was still a slight modification he needed to do, but first he had to see if the machine would work with the DNA he acquired.

"Omri, place these samples in the machine and switch levers two and four again." he spat.

The drone quietly obeyed and activated the machine after placing a Petri dish containing the Warners' hairs inside. The gigantic piece of equipment came to whirring life, making the scientist even more excited.

"YES! YEESSS! IT WORKED!" he leered with joy. Then he stood up straight and rubbed his palms together. "Now then, let's do a little _soul searching_ shall we?"

"_Soul searching,_ sir?" Omri asked curiously.

"Of course! Didn't I tell you earlier? I will use a detector on the machine that will summon a soul from another world or dimension and warp it here to inhabit the toon body I created!"

And on that note, he jumped to computer attached to the behemoth machine and frantically typed away at the keyboard, his devious grin becoming larger by the second. Then he put on a concentrating expression when a window was pulled up on the screen.

"Hmmm, I'd better pick a location that's somewhat near Burbank from another dimension." he mused. "And preferably where it'll gain the least bit of attention."

Frankeninni typed a few more keys on the computer, searching for a location within the state of California. Minutes later, the computer emitted a beeping noise, signaling that it managed to find a subject from a dimension similar to theirs. His grin reappeared on his face.

"Ahhh, perfect!"

XXXXXXX

_=The Real World=_

Rem walked out of a florists carrying a very small bouquet of the white roses. Some of the flowers were dyed blue, and resembled the false one in her hair. She walked down the sidewalk and waited at the bus stop. The bus came along and picked her up. It headed down five blocks and halted at another stop to pick up more passengers and allow Rem to disembark. She crossed the street and into the corner. She turned back to watch the bus leave. From there on out, she would have to walk home. The sky had become dull with the passing afternoon as the clouds got greyer and greyer. In the corner of which Rem crossed the street to, was a modest cemetery. Rem went inside through the front building and into the yard. It was quiet as any grave site would be. The yard was littered with headstones some of them bearing flowers, animal plushies and other mementos. Rem slowly walked into the field, paying silent tribute to those lying eternally dormant beneath her. She came to a pine tree, with a perfectly brown trunk and perfectly green leaves. She stared lowly at the grave with a hint of affection coming across her features.

"Hi, Grams." Rem murmured to the headstone.

She gently placed her small bundle of white and blue roses onto the grave. The light breeze ruffled her short, brown, and pointy hair as Rem continued to spend time with her departed grandmother.

A half-hour later, Rem went on her way home. She went down the usual route that spanned three blocks. Her head perked up when her ears twitched to the sound of sirens. Turning a corner, there a few police units and an ambulance all over the street. A traffic accident had apparently occurred and looked kind of nasty.

_Well this is just lovely._

Rem would have to take an alternate route home. It was longer but it was better than waiting God knows how long for the police to clear up the street. Trail seemed deserted and very quiet. Weeds popped out of concrete and asphalt. Nothing like the good ol' suburbs one would say. Rem came to a crumbling brick wall and easily climbed over it. The first time she came this way, she scraped her knee on the cement but after coming a few times more, Rem managed to avoid hurting herself. After jumping into the tall grass, the teen straightened out her hair and continued on her way. The sky started to rumble lightly with thunder.

_Oh joy, we finally get some freaking T-storms around here._

More light rumbles filled the air and Rem felt a few sprinkles of celestial water fall on her. Up ahead on the right, was a very large electrical substation. One of many in the whole city of Palm Springs. Suddenly, the telephone line above Rem created a spark, making her jerk her head up. The electrical equipment at the substation started to hum. Rem stared at it, wondering if the weather was causing it to act all funny or if it was simply malfunctioning for whatever reason. Either way, it made Rem very uncomfortable to be around. Nevertheless, she continued down the sidewalk.

_Relax. Just keep walking_.

Despite focusing on getting home , the substation was getting more and more harder to ignore as the humming got louder. The telephone sparked again and the wires at the station started to spark as well. Rem was beginning to get increasingly nervous but refused to acknowledge the feeling because she thought she'd look like a little fool. However the activity in the substation and the upset current in the telephone lines did not die down. Instead, they got more and more violent. The wires at the substation let out a huge spark which completely set Rem off. At this point, she really didn't care if she looked like a fool, she made a run for it. All that mattered was getting the hell away from the whirring electric stuff. The telephone wires suddenly glowed a dull yellow beam that connected with the wires at the substation and fired a beam towards Rem, enveloping her in a bright light before she disappeared in thin air.

XXXXXXX

_=The Toon World=_

Frankeninni's giant machine whirred loudly as sparks flew and exploded. The mad doctor grinned with delight and fierce anticipation.

"Yes! YES! YEEEEESSSS!" he cried with glee. "IT'S WORKING!"

XXXXXXX

Rem felt a surge of electricity run through her entire form. It hurt like hell. Literally. The worst part was that something weird was going on with her body. Like joints being pulled in and out of position, limbs being stretched a mile long and her head somehow imploding. She hated every second of it. Now she was really wishing that she took Alice up on her offer. Then finally everything stopped, and Rem started block out. She let the sweet darkness envelope her. Not caring what happened to her. Not giving much of a damn about anything else.

XXXXXXX

Waking up was hard to do. Frankly, Rem felt like shit. Like when she had to have her appendix out. Finally, she opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was a bright white light. Her first thought was that she was either in a hospital...or the afterlife. The ladder seemed nicer. Really nicer. But as her vision got further into focus, it quickly became clear that she was not in the next plane of existence. Or a hospital for that matter. The familiar electronic beeping and cold air was nowhere to be found. Blinking a few times and with a groan, Rem slowly sat up rubbing her head and eyes. She found that she was in some sort of metal tube. Weird. Then Rem saw her arm as she brought it down from her face and stared at it in shock. She looked at her other arm with all the air being sucked out of her lungs. They were both black and her hands bore four fingers instead of five. Rem looked up and caught a full view of herself in the reflection of the tube surrounding her. She wasn't human anymore. Frankeninni's machine had finally worked. Rem had become a toon. Shock quickly turned to rage.

_Wha...What...What the FUCK?_

Before she had time to vent her rage, her ears twitched to the sounds of voices coming from behind the tube that held her.

XXXXXXX

While the machine was still whirring, Omri had an observation of the DNA samples that were taken from the Warners.

"Sir, the DNA seems to have fused together." the drone called out.

"No matter!" Frankeninni replied. "The process is working! After many months of pain staking research and development, I'm finally getting the product I desired!"

After a few minutes, the machine's activity started to die down.

"I think that's enough now, Omri." the mad scientist said. "Shut it down."

The drone went ahead and turned off the machine. Frankeninni rubbed his hands together in sheer delight and anticipation. The metal tube that held Rem prisoner was lifted open, letting out steam. Lying in the center was Rem herself. Despite the fact she was now a toon, she still retained her clothes and things from the Real World. The only things that were missing were her dragon tee and her converse boots. Frankeninni went straight away at inspecting his handiwork. Her body was an exact clone of the Warners but there were some noticeable differences. First, Rem had Yakko's head but her hair was a little longer and spiked up and she sported very jagged bangs. Second, her nose, instead of being a bright red, was purple, and third, she had no white gloves. She retained her lavender arm gloves from the Real World. It seemed that the forms of all three of the Warners merged and became one when the DNA fused together. Along with Yakko's head, Rem had Wakko's height but was perhaps a few inches taller and a little more matured form of Dot's body and complexion gender-wise.

"Hmmm, female eh?" Frankeninni mused as he peered over her. "Well that's certainly dif-URK!"

Rem's hand had suddenly shot up and grabbed the mad doctor's neck in an extremely tight death-like grip. She slowly opened her eyes as he tried to pry off her increasingly tightening hand off his throat. Then Rem turned partly to her side and swiped a hard kick at the scientist, making him fly towards the opposite direction and land violently on the floor. Rem got on her feet and took ahold of her canvas hockey stick holder.

"I'm only going to say this once." she said with pure malice in her voice. "Put me back the way I was. You. Freaking. Asshole."

Frankeninni was quite taken aback by Rem's attitude and sudden attack. Nevertheless, he was quick to assert his authority.

"Now look here, _little girl._" he hissed. "I am your creator and master! You are to obey only _me!_"

An intense look of rage mixed with hatred came over Rem's face, making Frankeninni flinch a little.

"You know, a few seconds ago, I was just mad but now you've really pissed me off." she growled.

Seeing that he really had a big problem, the mad doctor scrambled to his computer and quickly pressed a button. Instantly, large robots came marching into the room, coming in front of Frankeninni and advancing on Rem.

"Still thinking about challenging me, my dear?" Frankeninni sneered with a grin.

"You're damn right I do." Rem snapped, unzipping the carrier in her hands.

"Heh! What are _you_ going to do? Fight me with a hockey stick?"

_A hockey stick he says..._

"Yeah sure. Why not?"

_(Now Playing: What's Up People? by Maxium the Hormone)_

Rem reached into the black carrier and the bag fell onto the floor. Frankeninni's eyes widened in horror as he saw what was _really_ inside the hockey stick carrier.

"R-robots, ATTACK!" he cried. "DRIVE HER INTO SUBMISSION!"

No sooner had he given the order, Rem unsheathed her weapon in her hands, zipped forward, and drove it through a robot with all her might, slicing it completely in two. Parts and fizzing wires went flying all over the place and scattered across the floor. Another robot fired spheres that blew out into nets at Rem but she easily dodged them all using speed and agility. She then leapt up and pounced on the head of the mechanical AI and drove her katanna right through the base of the neck area. Rem pushed herself off and slashed in an angular direction. Frankeninni, shaken by her sword play, skedaddled out of the room taking his toon drone with him.

"Where are we going, sir?" Omri asked.

"JUST SHUT UP AND FOLLOW ME!" Frankeninni bellowed.

Rem slashed apart another robot's legs and pierced through its CPU. The remaining robots paused in their movements for a moment until one of them decided to move backwards. Rem narrowed her eyes at them.

"I don't think so..." she hissed.

_(End Music)_

XXXXXXX

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot made their way to Frankeninni's lab, intent on getting back their hairs from him before he created some monstrosity in their form. They crept into the cave, going in different directions through the stalactites and stalagmites, making sure that they weren't seen or being followed. Then the trio entered the long hallway that would lead to the large laboratory area. Almost immediately they heard sounds of clinking and crashing bits and pieces of metal from up ahead.

"Hmmm, sounds like Frankeninni's having a little trouble with his science project." Yakko quipped.

Suddenly, a large piece of metal was violently thrown out of the lab and slammed against the wall before crashing to the floor. It made the Warner siblings freeze and give a look of surprise and a hint of fear.

"Ehhhh, did I say _little?_" Yakko said with a nervous chuckle.

They cautiously proceeded towards the lab and peered into the entrance. The trio saw Rem atop a fallen robot that was still operational and with her yanking out its parts.

"Well, well, well." Yakko murmured to his brother and sister. "Look what we got here, sibs."

Rem continued venting out her anger against the robot, ripping out chips, circuit boards and wires until she was sure that the machine was completely out of order.

"You know, I don't think it'll get much deader than that."

Rem shot her head up and saw Yakko leaning up against the wall with his arms crossed and with his siblings slightly mimicking him. She turned back her attention on the robot and pulled out the mother board before hopping off of it. Then she walked back over to the metal tube, picking up her hockey stick carrier and backpack.

"So, you new around here?" Yakko quipped.

"Have you seen a dude with a hump running around here?" Rem asked, almost ignoring his question.

"You mean like Quasimodo?"

Rem suppressed a growl of frustration.

"...yeah him." she murmured, hoping to get a straight answer.

Yakko smirked. Girl sure had an equal amount of wit.

"Ehhhh, I don't know." he replied. "We just got here."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the hall, catching their attention. Frankeninni returned in the same vehicle he used against the Warners.

"I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OUT OF!" the mad doctor shouted at Rem. "YOU _WILL_ OBEY ME!"

He fired the retractable claw at them, but they all dodged it. Then Rem changed her mind.

"Actually..."

She grabbed ahold of the claw when it slinked back to the vehicle, much to Frankeninni's surprise. After getting to the top, Rem put the scientist's head in a tight headlock.

"Now I'm going to ask you one last time." she said in a low voice. "Put me back the way I was. NOW."

"OR WHAT?" Frankeninni challenged.

Rem narrowed her eyes again.

"Wouldja like to find out?" she whispered, tightening her hold.

It was clear that she was ready to snap his neck.

"Ahem."

Both Rem and Frankeninni turned and saw the Warners lying casually across the vehicle as if they were lounging.

"Hate to barge in, but don'tcha think that's a bit too harsh?" Yakko asked Rem.

"You don't like it, you can buzz off." she snapped.

"Ohh, like I haven't heard that one before."

Frankeninni took an opportunity to escape Rem's wrath by pressing a button which caused the vehicle to vibrate violently and made both the Warners and Rem fall off of it. Like before, it turned into a rocket and took off into the air.

"THIS ISN'T OVER!" he shouted, shaking his fist. "I _WILL_ BE BACK!"

Rem attempted to run after him while he was still in the cavern. But the mad doctor managed to get away and take off into the sky. Rem stared after him with rage filling her.

_Fucking...asshole..._

The Warner trio joined her outdoors just in time to catch a glimpse of the rocket flying into the distance.

"Well, so much for stopping Frankenputt from using our DNA." Yakko sighed.

Without a word, Rem started to leave, going to opposite direction.

"Hey, where you going?" Wakko asked.

"I'm leaving." Rem replied.

"But you just got here." Dot protested.

"I really don't care. I need to...where the hell am I?

"Good ol' Burbank, California, kid." Yakko replied.

Rem paused in her steps.

"...Seriously?" she asked with a frown.

"Yep." Yakko nodded. "Where the sun shines and the air pollution's high."

Rem stood silently fuming. At least it wasn't too far away from home.

"See ya."

"Hey wait a minute, where you headed off to?" Yakko intervened.

"First, I'm going to search and destroy the jackass who did this to me, and then I'm going to by a bus ticket and get the hell out of here!" Rem ranted.

"Hey, hey, hey, how 'bout we cool it with the swearing? This is a kid's cartoon, you know."

"Ask me if I give a damn."

"Hey! You kiss your mother with that mouth?" Dot exclaimed.

"I don't have a mother."

The Warners paused, feeling a twinge of guilt.

"How 'bout a Dad-doo?" Wakko asked.

"Neither. They're both dead." Rem said with malice in her voice.

That twinge of guilt got bigger.

"No grandma? No Aunt 'n' Uncle? Brothers or sisters?" Dot asked.

"Just one grandma." Rem replied, her voice becoming a bit soft. "But she's gone too. I've been an orphan twice over and I have no family."

She continued on her way but Yakko sped up to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Alright wait a minute. We kinda got off on the wrong foot here." Yakko said. "So let's start over and allow us to introduce ourselves."

The trio jumped together in front of Rem.

"We're the Warner Brothers!" Yakko and Wakko declared in unison.

"And the Warner Sister!" Dot added.

"I'm Yakko."

"I'm Wakko."

"And I'm Princess Angelina Contesa Louisa Bonanna Banna Bo Besca the Third. But you can call me Dot. Call me Dottie and you die!"

"That's nice." Rem said, uninterested. "Later."

"Hold on, not so fast!" Yakko insisted. "Tell us who you are."

Rem became silent. She had a thing against telling strangers her name. Especially strangers who looked like insane loons.

"...Rem." she finally answered.

"Rem?" Wakko asked curiously.

"Yeah. Just Rem."

"There a last name in there?" Yakko asked.

"...Roth."

"Rem Roth, huh?"

"Yeah. So if you'll please excuse me, I gotta get to a bus stop."

The Warners watched her leave and exchanged glances. Rem had only gotten three feet away when the siblings started following her, wearing grins and with their hands in their pockets.

"You know," Yakko began again. "ehhhhh, I think the bus station closes at 5:30."

Rem stopped.

"What time is it now?" she asked impatiently and to make sure.

Wakko reached into the collar of his sky blue turtle neck shirt and pulled out a grandfather clock.

"5:45." he replied.

_...shit._

"That's fine." Rem said aloud. "I'll just sleep on a bench there until it opens."

"Hold on, tiger." Yakko interjected. "You don't think we'd let a fellow Warner spend the night all alone at a Bus Station?"

"Let's get one thing straight here, pal." Rem snapped. "I. Am. NOT. You. I am my own person, got that?"

"Yeah, but with you carrying our charms and good looks, you might as well be." Dot quirked.

Rem made a face.

"You people naturally this annoying?" she asked frankly.

"We try." Yakko answered with a grin. "Come on, why don't you come stay with us? A water tower is better than a bench at the Bus Station."

"You live in a water tower?"

"Yep." Dot replied. "We get heating, A/C, lighting, and cable."

"It's also got plumbing." Wakko added.

"Whaddya say?" Yakko asked.

Rem fumed again, severely conflicted with her options and the Warners' sheer persistence. She guessed she could leave early the next morning and catch the first bus to Palm Springs.

"Fine." she muttered.

Excited, the trio grabbed ahold of her and began to drag her along as they raced back to the studio.

"Rem, you're gonna love it there!" Yakko said.

"Yeah! We'll make popcorn and watch Don Knotts videos!" Wakko exclaimed.

"And we'll paint each other's nails and talk about our favorite Mel Gibson movies." Dot added.

"I think I'll pass." Rem said lowly.


	6. Getting Acquainted

***Chapter 5: Getting Acquainted***

_Just how the hell did I get into this?_

Rem walked along side of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot silently listening to them blabber about stuff she hadn't heard about in years. She wondered if she was in some different timeline or something. From the sound of it, it seemed like the girl was stuck in the 90s. Rem also wondered if the trio would ever shut up. They hadn't stopped talking since they met. She just continued to stare lowly at the sidewalk and let their mindless chatter run through her head as she focused on figuring out a good way to get home. And hopefully, locate that scientist and get him to change her back into a human.

"Well here we are." Yakko announced.

Rem looked up and instantly did not like what she saw. She wasn't expecting to be going to a Hollywood Studio as well.

"Whoa, wait a minute. I thought you said you guys lived in a water tower." she rasped.

"We do." Dot said pointing. "It's just over there."

"Is there a problem?" Yakko asked.

"Yeah, you guys didn't say _anything_ about it being in the middle of a freaking movie studio!" Rem exclaimed.

"Well, we're Warner Bros. employees, so we don't have a choice.

Rem silently scowled.

"You know what? Thanks for the invitation, but I think I'll definitely pass."

She turned and started to walk away but the Warners grabbed her and pulled her back.

"Aw come on, it'll be fine." Yakko said.

"HEY YOU KIDS!"

"Uh-oh. Rem, get ready to run for it."

"...Why?"

Suddenly, the four of them were scooped up by a large net by none other than Ralph the Guard. He'd finally captured the Warner kids after going all day trying to nab them. However Rem was certainly NOT happy with this.

"DUDE, WHAT THE HELL?" she cried in fury.

Then Ralph noticed he caught more than just the zany trio.

"Duuuh...who's this?" he asked.

"Somebody who's gonna kick your ass if YOU DON'T LET ME OUT OF THIS STUPID THING!" Rem ranted as she tried getting out of the net.

"Ehhhh, she's new." Yakko told Ralph with a raised eyebrow. "And a little bit in culture shock."

XXXXXXX

A few minutes later, Ralph took the Warners into Thaddeus Plotz's office. He wanted to bring the _new arrival_ to the CEO after barely managing to put the Warners and Rem inside a wooden crate.

"Uh, Mr. Plotz sir?" he called out once he reached the chairman of the board's room.

"Yes? What is it, Ralph?" Plotz asked, jotting down his signature on a form.

"I've uh, brought the Warners, sir."

"WHAT? WHADJA BRING _THEM_ IN FOR? THROW THEM BACK INTO THE WATER TOWER THIS INSTANT!"

"But there's something you oughta see, sir!"

Ralph took a crowbar and started to pry open the crate lid. Plotz anxiously lowered himself behind the desk with sweat already coming down his nearly bald head. Then the security guard got the lid off but instead of the usual Warner greeting, Rem shot straight up, gasping for air. Seconds later the trio joined her.

"Holy crap!" Rem cried.

"Aw come on, it wasn't _that_ bad." Yakko sighed with his hands on his hips.

"Easy for you to say! You with the friggin' rubber limbs!"

Plotz went into panic mode when he saw Rem.

"Oh no!" he cried. "Not another one!"

"That's right Plotzy!" Yakko quipped as he and his brother and sister leaped onto the CEO's desk. "It's our new best friend! Her name's Rem!"

"Rem Warner?"

"Excuse me." Rem blurted out with disdain. "My last name is _Roth._ NOT Warner."

"Rem Roth?"

"No relation, T.P." Dot pointed out.

"She's one of Frankeninni's projects." Wakko added.

Rem made a face.

_And that's something I truly resent._

Plotz almost had a heart attack when he heard Frankeninni's name mentioned.

"FRANKENINNI?" he bellowed. "THEN I WANT HER OUT OF HERE! I WON'T HAVE ANYTHING OF HIS ON _MY_ LOT!"

Rem simply turned around to leave again.

"Well, you heard the man." she said, undeterred. "He doesn't want me here."

But before she could even leave the room, the Warners grabbed her and pulled her back again.

"Sit. Stay." Dot commanded.

Rem made another face as the trio turned their attention back on the CEO.

"Come on, T.P. let her stay." Yakko pleaded. "She's not like the other toons Frankeninni made."

"I DON'T CARE!" Plotz shouted.

Then, the siblings suddenly put on hurt puppy dog faces and got all teary eyed as a violin played in the background.

"You wouldn't leave a fellow toon out on the cold dark streets, would you?" Dot whined.

Rem stared at them in total disgust as they begged.

"Jesus Christ..." she muttered under her breath.

Her comment prompted the Warners to break character and give her a disapproving look.

"Sorry." Rem sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Please T.P., let Rem stay!" Yakko begged after he and his siblings returned their attention on Plotz.

The Chairman of the Board scowled for a moment as he glanced at Rem and thought of a decision.

"Oh...oh alright. I suppose she can stay." he muttered.

"HOORAY!" the Warners joyfully exclaimed.

"BUT SHE MUST ABIDE TO THE SAME RULES AS YOU THREE!" Plotz continued. "Ralph, if you please..."

The guard picked up all four of them and began to carry them out of the building.

"Don't worry." Yakko whispered. "This is the part where they throw us back into the water tower."

"Oh joy." Rem said with dark sarcasm.

A few minutes later, Ralph tossed them all in the studio Water Tower and promptly shut the door behind him. The Warners got up and dust themselves off as Rem rubbed her neck.

"Now as I was sayin' before, here we are." Yakko declared.

Rem blinked and shielded her eyes a little when he switched on the lights. To her left was a triple-decked bunk bed, to her right was a couch with a TV sitting in front of it, and just ahead of her was a kitchen area. Way towards the back was the stained glass window of the Warners' beloved director, Weed Memblo.

_Wow. Kinda reminds me of those magi-tents from friggin Harry Potter._

"Well, make yourself at home." Dot said.

Rem looked around quietly.

"Cool." she said in a monotone-like voice. "So...where do I crash?"

"Oh right, Wakko if you please?" Yakko said.

The red-capped Warner with his tongue hanging out in a goofy manner, pulled out his gag bag from his hammer space and began searching around in it. Seconds later, he pulled out a mattress and whomped it down on the floor. Next, he pulled out some sheets, and a pillow making the _bed_ as they landed. Wakko stood up straight with a wide grin and his tongue still perpetually hanging out when he was finished.

"No bed frame?" Yakko asked with his arms folded.

Wakko made a face and peered into his gag bag again.

"Sorry." he said.

"Well she can't sleep on the floor." Dot protested.

"Actually, this is good." Rem spoke up. "It's nothing new to me anyway."

She went over to the made-up mattress and set down her things while the Warners watched her curiously.

"So, you a hockey player?" Yakko asked.

Rem made a pause.

"No." she replied.

"Then why are you carrying around a hockey stick bag?" Wakko inquired.

"For shits and giggles."

Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind and yanked backward. Yakko had gotten ahold of the back of her vest collar and promptly plastered a strip of masking tape with the word, 'CENSORED' written across it in black. The trio gave her scolding looks as she fidgeted around trying to get the tape off of her.

"Ya know, we _really_ need to do something about that mouth of yours." Yakko said.

Rem emitted a muffled groan and gave an annoyed glare. She continued fidgeting around until she finally got the tape off of her.

"Gah!" she rasped, getting air. "Listen I don't have any intention of staying very long. Tomorrow I wanna get to a Bus Station and get out of here."

"What about Frankeninni?" Wakko asked.

Rem was silent. She almost forgot about him.

"If I get lucky, maybe I'll be able to kick his a-I mean butt." she murmured.

"Well that's all good and dandy." Yakko said, almost not paying any attention. "There's only so many places he could be."

"Yeah..."

Rem was deep in thought. Frankly, she didn't really give a crap about the mad scientist anymore. Now all she wanted, was to get home and just deal with the fall out when everyone noticed that she wasn't human anymore.

"Just so we're on the same page," Yakko continued. "let us come with ya so you don't have to go around Burbank by yourself."

"Fine." Rem answered.

Which was a lie. Rem had no intention of waiting for them.

XXXXXXX

Around 6:30 in the morning, Rem woke up and silently got her things together. The Warners were still asleep and lightly snoring in a comedic manner. Rem wanted to keep it that way. She carefully pulled out a note she had written and placed it on the now made-up bed. Then she quietly left the Water Tower making sure not to make any noises. After carefully shutting the front door that was the shape of the studio logo, Rem happened to look down from the catwalk encircling the tower itself.

_Ohh...my God..._

She saw how high up she was from the ground and almost immediately regretted it. Rem had a fear of heights. Thankfully, there was a ladder on the tower. But she wasn't sure if it was even safe. Rem took a deep breath.

_Relax. You can do this._

Rem proceeded to climb down the ladder which seemed to be stable. Nevertheless, she kept a death-like grip on the bars until she finally made it all the way down. When her feet touched the blessed ground, she let out a sigh of upmost relief. Now her next obstacle was getting past the front gate. Ralph had already arrived in his booth with a mug of coffee and watching the early morning news on a miniature TV set.

_There's gotta be another way out of this hell-hole other than that._

Rem looked around and took off like a ghost to her left. She passed through two soundstages and then onto the back lot. The back lot was gated by diamond wire fences, fortunately for her. Rem hastily tossed her two bags over on the other side and promptly climbed over the gate thereafter. Now Rem was out of the studio. With the ever increasing morning light she made her way to the street in front of the studio and went from there looking for the nearest Bus Station.

XXXXXXX

About a half hour later, the Warners were just starting to make up from their ibeauty sleep./i Yakko-being on the very bottom of the triple decked bunk bed-instantly noticed that something was amiss. He saw that the bed that Wakko got out for her the night before, neatly made and with a note lying on it waiting to be opened. What concerned Yakko more was the fact that it was empty. Raising an eyebrow, he went over and picked up the note which was written in very neat cursive.

_Thanks for the hospitality._

_-Rem_

To be frank, Yakko was pretty irked by this. Never in his whole life did he have one of his charges disobey him. Even if they weren't exactly related. Wakko and Dot also noticed that Rem was missing.

"Hey, where's Rem?" Dot asked.

"She left." Yakko replied, with irritation slightly coating his voice.

"Why did she leave?" Wakko inquired.

"I think I know."

"The Bus Station? But weren't we supposed to go together?" Dot asked again.

"Yup, but if we hurry, we might be able to catch her."

XXXXXXX

Rem arrived at the Burbank Bus Station completely adamant on getting back to Palm Springs. She went inside and to a booth and waited patiently in fire. A few minutes later, Rem went to a booth and wait patiently waited in line. A few minutes later, Rem went got to the floor where a woman was sitting behind the glass and microphone.

"Can I help you, dear?" the female clerk asked kindly.

"Ummm, yeah. Is there a bus leaving for Palm Springs?" Rem asked in reply.

"Hmmm, let's see. There's one leaving at 10:30."

_Damn. That means I would have a lot of time to kill._

"Are there any available seats?"

"There are a few seats available. Would you like to purchase a ticket?"

"That would be nice."

_Thank God I saved my birthday and Christmas money._

Rem purchased a ticket and went to find a bench to sit at. When she found one, a new curiosity was born in her mind. She took her back pack and peered into it. All her stuff from the Real World seemed to still be there, including her favorite book, _The Devine Comedy_ by Dante.

_Well this is awesome._

With something to pass the time, Rem opened her book and began to read where she last left off. Pretty soon however, the area got crowded. A little too crowded for Rem's tastes. She closed her book and got up from her seat to look for a more peaceful place to sit and wait for her bus. Meanwhile unbeknownst to her, the Warners entered the station in search of her.

"Gee, Yakko." Dot said. "There's a lot of people here. Are you sure we'll be able to find her?"

"She's gotta be around her somewhere." Yakko replied.

They continued their search while Rem continued looking for a nice quiet place to sit down. She passed by a small group of punks, catching their attention. Rem sensed she was being followed and repositioned her hockey stick carrier and partially unzipped it for easier access. The punks eventually caught up with her.

"Hey there, little lady." one of them wheezed. "How's it hangin'?"

"Beat it, asshole." Rem snapped with malice in her voice.

The punks, taken aback by the harshness of her tone, gave each other surprised glances and then broke into laughter. The Warners finally pinpointed Rem and were dismayed to see her being hassled by the punks.

"Oh great." Yakko sighed. "Little Miss Amateur's already got her own fan club."

"Men..go fig." Dot groaned. "So should we go help her?"

"I don't know, I'd like to see her whack 'em with a hockey stick." Wakko quirked.

Then, as they watched the scene unfold, the handle of Rem's katanna with a few key chains attached suddenly stuck out of the carrier and revealed itself, making the Warners' faces turn noticeably pale.

"Wait a minute." Yakko rasped. "That's no hockey stick..."

Rem continued to try and lose her pursuers with no success.

"Come on baby, how 'bout we-"

In the blink of an eye, Rem unsheathed her blade and spun around, pointing her weapon right in the unfortunate man's face making him freeze in terror and his pals to back away. The Warners also tensed up at the sight of her weapon which resembled a huge wolf or dragon fang.

"Holy smokes, that thing looks..._mean._" Wakko rasped.

Rem continued to hold the unwitting punk in a frozen state of shock as she lowly stared daggers at him.

"Care to discuss the matter further?" she hissed, daring him to answer.

Before anything else happened, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot suddenly appeared at her side.

"_Oh thank you kind sir!_ Yakko exclaimed. "We've been looking all over for this crazy kid."

"Yeah, she's our sister." Dot added.

"Just what the hell do you thi-mph!"

Wakko and Dot got ahold of Rem-who was about ready to throw a shit fit-and covered her mouth.

"So if you don't mind, we'll be headin' on home now." Yakko concluded.

The Warners zipped away carrying a struggling and muffled cursing Rem in tow. They made a stop behind a building to confront her. Yakko of course had a few choice words for her.

"WHAT THE CRAP WAS ALL _THAT_ ABOUT?" Rem screamed in rage.

Yakko made a deeper and a bit angrier frown and grabbed her sheathed blade from her.

"First of all, we _DO NOT_ threaten the public with weaponry." he said sternly. "Second, I thought I made it clear to you that we didn't want you going off on your own."

"Look, Yaks-a-lot.." Rem said.

"That's _Mr. Yaks-a-lot_ to you, missy."

"I can manage quite well on my own thank you very much."

"Oh and play Miss Slice 'n' Dice while you're at it?"

"SCREW YOU!"

"ALRIGHT, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Dot exclaimed, coming in between them. Then she turned to her elder brother. "In case you forgot, we have appointment with Scratchy this morning."

"Who?" Rem asked.

"Dr. Scratchansniff."

"He's our P-psychiatrist." Wakko added.

"Oh. Nice." Rem muttered.

"So maybe he can help us work this out." Dot said after turning back to Yakko.

"That's cool." Rem interjected. "You can go work stuff with your therapist."

She started to walk away but Dot pulled her back.

"You're coming with us!" she told her.

"Must I?" Rem groaned.

"Yes, you do." Yakko and Wakko told her in unison.

XXXXXXX

Ten minutes later, they arrived back with Rem silently raging in her head. She was so close to getting home. Before going into Dr. Scratchansniff's office, Dot came over to Rem's side.

"Say Rem," Dot said. "been meaning to ask ya this. But that flower in your hair, what is it? Azalea?"

"A blue rose." Rem answered.

The Warners paused and exchanged confused glances.

"Blue roses aren't real..." they protested in unison.

"Says you." Rem countered.

They continued inside the building and waited a little in the lobby. Then Hello Nurse came over to take them to which Yakko and Wakko suddenly jumped up into her arms.

"HEEEELLLLOOOOO, NURSE!" the boys cried in unison.

"Boys, go fig." Dot whispered to Rem.

Nurse took them into Scratchansniff's room. Like Plotz, poor Otto nearly had a heart attack when he saw that the Warner trio had somewhat become a quartet.

"Hiya, Scratchy!" Yakko, Wakko, and Dot exclaimed in unison, jumping on the therapist's desk and giving him one big smooch.

Scratchansniff growled and waved his arms around frantically as the siblings jumped off. Then, straightening out his thick glasses he saw Rem standing silently in front of his desk with a serious look on her face and her arms folded.

"Eh...vho iz thees?" Scratchansniff whimpered.

"That's Rem." Dot told him. "She's with us."

The psychiatrist looked at Rem again who simply raised an eyebrow.

"Sup?" she said lowly.

"Iz thees a relative of yours?" Otto asked the trio.

"No dude." Rem replied before the Warners could. "My last name is Roth. We're not blood related, and thank God we're not.

"Eh, heh, heh. Of course not. Let's begin our zession, ja?"

The Warners leapt onto the therapist couch while Rem simply walked over and sat down. From there on out, the session went on like normal. Dr. Scratchansniff would ask questions and the Warners would give him indirect answers that would frustrate or annoy. After a short while, the psychiatrist began focusing in on Rem. While the Warners were going away at their usual jokes, Rem was sitting silently with an emotionless face. Her expression showed a slight hint of irritation at first, but then turned completely deadpan. She stuck out like a sore thumb in comparison to the Warners.

_Vell, thees iz quite odd._

"Eh, Rem?" the therapist asked nervously. "Iz there zomething you vould like to talk about?"

Rem made a pause.

"I'm not a very good talker..." she said in a low voice.

"Vell, vhat iz your age?" Scratchansniff asked again.

"Yeah, how old _are_ you?" Yakko inquired, turning to Rem.

"You'll never know." Rem answered flatly, making the Warners frown at her.

Dr. Scratchansniff was even more puzzled at this girl. She absolutely took no part in the Warners' zaniness at all. What disturbed him the most, was the fact that she seemed to purposely suppress and lack any kind of emotion whatsoever. After an hour, the session was over and the trio was off to create mayhem in their own crazy fashion. Before they left, Otto held Rem back for a moment.

"Rem? Perhaps next time vould you mind having a zession vith jus' the two ov us?" he asked.

Rem was silent for a moment.

"...Sure I guess." she murmured.

"Ah, gud!"

"Yeah great, now let's go!" Yakko interjected, pulling her along as he and his siblings zipped away.

Dr. Scratchansniff continued to rub his chin in slight worry. The Warners zipped merrily around the let with Rem trying to keep up with them. Actually, she had no idea what the hell they were doing. No sooner had they been out on the lot, Ralph had spotted them and immediately came after them with a net.

"Come on, Rem." Dot insisted as she and her brothers made a break for it.

However Rem remained as the Warners sped off.

_This is stupid. How the hell am I supposed to run like that anyway?_

She looked down at her feet for a second wondering if she should at least give it a try or if that was being retarded. Rem decided hell with it. She started running in place and pretty soon-and much to her surprise-her feet started to get revved up. But then she darted forward while he feet were still revving up, making her go practically at the speed of light. Rem even flew past the Warner's in a flash, making Dot and Wakko leap into Yakko's arms and look surprised and a little shocked.

"Faboo." Wakko rasped.

"I didn't know we could run that fast." Dot added.

XXXXXXX

Rem continued to zip across the studio and through Burbank with a bluish purple blur following in her wake. The only problem now was getting a sense of direction.

_Shit. How do I stop?_

Rem tried to stop by halting herself. That seemed to work. Literally. She found herself in one of Burbank's nicer looking parks.

_Well, at least now I'm finally alone._

Rem proceeded into the park, hoping to unwind from the park, hoping to unwind from the previous and somewhat stressful event. The weather was a bit mild but nice weather. A gentle and cool breeze ruffled Rem's now-all black hair, making her feel a little calm. She strolled slowly the park until she came to a tree and decided to sit underneath it. Leaning against the trunk with her katanna, she looked up at the sky, watching the puffy white clouds roll by as the breeze continued to ruffle her hair and the leaves in the tree above her.

_This place is certainly more colorful, I'll give it that._

Meanwhile, a little farther ahead of where Rem was sitting, was Slappy's tree house. When Skippy went into the kitchen, he saw Rem and got a little confused.

"Hey Aunt Slappy." he called out. "I think there's a new Warner in town."

Slappy who was reading the newspaper, lowered it with a skeptical look and a raised eyebrow.

"Oh joy." she muttered sarcastically. "Where didja find that out?"

"She's sitting right over there." Skippy replied, pointing out the window.

The elderly squirrel looked and saw Rem sitting at the trunk of the tree looking as if she was meditating. Slappy raised her eyebrow again.

_Well, this sure is different._

Filled with curiosity, the two squirrels went outside to meet this _new Warner._ Rem, although becoming aware of their presence, continued to subconscious.

"Hey kid, you new around here?" Slappy called out.

"...Very." Rem muttered darkly.

Like Dr. Scratchansniff, Slappy was a bit perturbed by Rem's demeanor. Whoever she was, she was definitely not a Warner.

"Where ya from, kid?" the elder squirrel asked.

"The bowels of the Coachella Valley." Rem answered dryly.

"Coachella Valley, huh? I think I went there for a bowling tournament and wrap party a few years back."

Rem was silent. Even though Slappy was merely drumming up a conversation, clearly she didn't understand the point that Rem wasn't exactly part of the celebrity class. Nor did she want to be.

"What's your name, kid?" Slappy asked.

"...Rem Roth." Rem replied.

"Uh-huh. Didn't think you were a Warner."

_Freaking finally..._

"Hey! Rem!"

Slappy, Skippy, and Rem looked up and saw Yakko, Wakko, and Dot coming their way. To which Rem's expression turned sourer.

"Oh shit..." she muttered under her breath, catching both Slappy and Skippy's attention.

"Hey Aunt Slappy." Skippy whispered to his elder. "Did she just curse?"

"Just pretend ya didn't hear it." Slappy replied.

The Warners trotted over to them as Rem stood up.

"Where've you been?" Wakko asked.

"Around." Rem replied sarcastically with a sullen look.

Yakko frowned and put his hands on his hips.

"You know, you could smile for a change." he pointed out. "You haven't cracked one since you got here."

Rem lowly glared at him like he was the most hated thing of the planet.

"I don't smile, Warner." she said in a directed and firm tone.

"Aww come on, just one?" Yakko pleaded.

He and his siblings displayed various goofy and zany stunts in their own special way. Skippy let out a giggle and even Slappy made a grin. But when she glanced to her left, she saw that Rem was completely stone faced and showing no hint of emotion except a hint of irritation.

"No thanks." she said, walking past the trio.

The Warners all put their hands on their hips and looking a little frustrated.

"That kid's a tough crowd." Slappy commented.

"Nah, she's just mad because Frankeninni brought her here." Dot said.

"Frankeninni, huh? Well still, she's definitely a tough crowd. Hope you kids can handle her."

"I wouldn't worry about it." Yakko countered. "She's just full of steam."

With that the trio left. Slappy remained concerned about their new charge.

_Steam or no steam, one thing's for sure, there's something wrong with that kid. And I don't think it has anything do with lacking a sense of humor._

* * *

**AN: And that concludes Act I. I gotta tell ya, Scratchansniff's accent was hard to do. Anyway, here's the song list for this Act. It's short for now, but it'll get longer with the other Acts.**

***Song List***

**-Animaniacs Theme**  
**-What's Up People? (Maxium the Hormone)**  
**-What You Want (Evanescense)**  
**-Journey (David Darling)**  
**-Darkwood 1 (David Darling)**  
**-Prelude from Suite for Unaccompanied Cello (Bach. Played by Kim Yeong Min)**  
**-Harmageddon (Apocalyptica)**  
**-Another Day (Within Temptation)**


	7. Interlude

***Act I Interlude***

Two days later, and in the middle of the night, Rem very quietly got up from her bed pulling her things together.

_(Now Playing: Let's Get Lost by Beck and Bat for Lashes)_

She carefully eyed Yakko, Wakko, and Dot who were deep asleep on their bunks. Then she tip-toed to the front door and carefully opened it, hoping like hell that it wouldn't make a creaking noise. Rem was going to try and leave again. Before exiting the Water Tower, she threw a glance back at the Warners. They were still asleep. This gave Rem the go ahead to make her move. Instead of completely closing the door, she left it nearly ajar. Stealthily, Rem made her way down the tower ladder and took the same route that she took the other day. She didn't want to risk setting off any alarms-if any-when going for the front gate. Just as soon as her feet touched the ground, Rem made a break for it.

Back inside the Water Tower, Yakko cracked a suspicious eye open and got up. He wasn't really sleeping, he faked it that whole time. Yakko had anticipated Rem to try and got out on her own again and he was just proven right. The eldest Warner quietly went outside, minding his two younger siblings as they were truly asleep. Getting onto the catwalk, Yakko scanned the nocturnal horizon and spotted Rem running past Soundstage 28 and 29 and then into the back lot. He placed his elbow on the railing and his hand under his chin in a leaning manner as he watched her climb over the fence. Yakko had to wonder if she happened to be a spider monkey in another life. Then the elder Warner let out a sigh and turned back towards the Tower.

_(End Music)_

Rem ventured into the series of trees that stood along side of the Warner Bros. back lot. There was only half a moon out tonight so there wasn't much light to guide her along.

_Makes me wish I carried around a friggin' flash light or something._

She did have a lighter, but a tiny flame wouldn't be enough and she certainly didn't want to risk setting the trees on fire. As far as she was concerned, Nature had been massacred enough as it is. Rem tried to make her way through the almost pitch darkness. She looked up and barely made out the constellation Leo in the night sky that was nearly covered by leaf-filled branches. Every time Rem would get lost, she would always follow Leo to find her way home.

"Going somewhere?"

Rem swung around, taking her weapon and ready to use it when she suddenly heard the voice. Then she saw Yakko leaning against a tree with his arms folded. Tension quickly turned to anger.

"Dude, seriously, what the hell?" Rem ranted.

"Well, scratching the swearing, my question exactly." Yakko replied.

Rem made a face and turned away from him.

"Why won't you let me leave?" she muttered.

"What's the big rush?" Yakko countered. "You got a date or something?"

"No I don't. Don't want one or need one. Now if you don't freaking mind, I'd like to go now."

Rem started to walk away but Yakko appeared in front of her and held her back by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I _do_ mind." the elder Warner said. "Considering your obvious streak of rebelliousness and being somewhat of a minor..."

"Oh please." Rem groaned, rolling her eyes. "Besides, I don't belong here. And I'm not even related to you, so why the hell do you care?"

"Well, call it older brotherly instinct."

Rem fumed for a moment. Yakko could swear that he caught a glint in her eye showing a very pained and sorrowful emotion as if she were remembering some awful memory. But like most glints, it disappeared instantly.

"Yeah well, I _really_ don't' need any of _that_ anymore." Rem said bitterly.

She tried to get past him again but he stopped her.

"Look, why don't you stay? Just for a little while?" Yakko said.

Rem emitted a low growl. She really did not want to stay. But now there wasn't too much of a point of trying to leave anyway.

_I'm never getting back home am I?_

"Fine, I'll stay." she said in a low voice.

With a scowl on her face, Rem walked past Yakko towards the studio. Yakko with his arms still folded, grinned and followed after her.

XXXXXXX

The next morning, the resident of the Water Tower all woke up to another zany and fun-filled day. The only person who didn't awaken to a cheerful demeanor was Rem. While the Warners zipped around the kitchen getting their favorite cereal, Rem simply walked to the table and sat there with a sour disposition. Then the siblings all came to the table.

"Morning, sunshine." Yakko quirked to which Rem made a face.

_Go straight to hell..._

"Whaddya'll have?"

Rem looked up and saw the cereals that they all got.

"Jesus, no wonder you guys bounce off the walls." she said, taking a box. "You ever heard of taking your four basic food groups?"

"Oh sure." Dot said. "But where would be the fun in that?"

The Warners set off on their breakfast, while Rem just slowly took bites instead of spoonfuls. Yakko noticed that her bowl was only a third full.

"Is that _all_ you're gonna eat?" he asked.

"I'm not a very big eater." Rem murmured.

Before Yakko could push the subject, their Bugs Bunny telephone suddenly rang out. Instant grins appeared on Yakko, Wakko, and Dot's faces.

"I'LL GET IT!" they cried in unison.

"I'll get it!" Dot insisted.

"No, I'll get it!" Yakko protested.

"I never get to get it!" Wakko whined.

Rem watched them in annoyance as the telephone continued to ring. With a heaving sigh, she got up and went towards the phone while the Warners were busy arguing and in a cartoonish cloud, pushing each other around.

"'Yello." Rem spoke into the phone.

"Erm..yes, hello."

It was Mr. Plotz on the other end of the line.

"Um...my secretary has gone home sick again and I uh, need some help in my office."

"Hold on."

Rem placed her hand over the receiver and turned to the Warners, who were in a frozen position of their argument and staring blankly at their house guest.

"It's that guy from the Administration Office." Rem said.

"Mr. Plotz?" Yakko asked.

"Yeah, him."

"What does he want?" Dot inquired.

"Something about his secretary leaving for the day and needing some help."

The siblings glanced at each other with wide grins and Yakko scurried over to Rem and took the phone from her.

"Don't you worry about a thing, T.P." he declared. "We'll be right over!"

Suddenly Plotz realized who he was talking to.

"No! You kids stay in your Tower! Do you he-"

Yakko hung up before the CEO could finish.

"Come siblings!" the elder Warner declared. "Plotz-y needs our help!"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure he doesn't want us there..." Rem said.

"Don't be such a spoil sport, Rem." Dot told her.

XXXXXXX

Mr. Plotz frantically paced back and forth, appalled by his own mistake.

"Wha-What do I do?" he whimpered. "I know, I'll call Ralph!"

He hurried over to his phone, but when he picked it up, the three Warners sprang out of the receiver.

"Hiya Plotz-y!" they said in unison before laying a big smooch on him.

"ARGHH! GET OFF OF ME!" the chairman of the board cried. "I WANT YOU OU-wait, where's the other one?"

Then the door to Plotz's office slowly opened and in came Rem.

"I walked." she said.

"We're here ta help ya, T.P.!" Yakko announced.

"Yeah, just like last time." Dot added.

"LAST TIME, YOU MADE A MESS OUT OF MY OFFICE!" Plotz screeched.

"Relax, T.P." Yakko insisted as he and his siblings pushed the little man towards his desk. "You just go right back to work and leave everything else to us!"

"I don't want-"

Suddenly, the CEO let out a huge gasp when he saw Rem at a cart in the outer office which had coffee and tea dispensers. Rem got a Styrofoam cup and filled it with coffee, then she put cream and quite a lot of sugar in it. Plotz was beside himself with fear, imagining a Warner on pure caffeine.

"NO!" he cried. "DON'T DRINK THAT!"

But he was too late as Rem was already taking a nice long gulp out of her cup. To Plotz's surprise, she remained in her calm and still demeanor. Not going absolutely high crazy.

"I needed something to calm my nerves." Rem murmured.

Yakko and his siblings raised an eyebrow while Plotz blinked in surprise.

"Eh, heh-heh-heh, of course." Plotz laughed nervously.

"You know if you drink that stuff, you'll stunt your growth." Yakko pointed out.

"Too late. Already had one." Rem replied nonchalantly.

XXXXXXX

An hour later, Plotz eventually let the Warners help him again in his office-although he would probably regret it later-in the place of his stricken secretary. Yakko was at the desk using his fingers as a make-shift invisible type writer. Dot was literally filing file folders with a large metal nail filer, and Wakko screwing around with the copy machine before finally smashing it with a huge mallet. Rem all the while was seated on the couch, reading a magazine. She wasn't really reading it, just looking through the pages. Normally, you wouldn't catch her even glancing at gossip magazines since most of them were all about sensationalism. Rem absolutely hated those, but it was the only kind of reading material there. Then, Plotz came out of his office with a pencil in one hand and a paper pad in the other.

"Wakko." he called out. "I need you in my office."

The red-capped boy's eyes sparkled, feeling somewhat special, and he hopped at Plotz's heels as they went into his office.

"Sit down, Wakko." Plotz told the middle Warner.

Wakko sat in the chairman's desk with his big red tongue hanging out of his mouth.

"Can you take a letter?" Plotz asked, handing the toon boy the pencil and pad.

"Where do you want me to take it?" Wakko asked in reply.

"No, no, no. I mean write a letter!"

"Oh sure! Dear Santa, I've been very good this year-"

Before he could even finish, Plotz let out another growl of frustration. How could he forget how difficult dealing with the Warners was? Without boosting his stress level, he took Wakko and threw him out of his office.

"Dot! In my office now!" the studio boss ordered.

"Mr. Schwarzenegger, could you please hold?" Dot said into the phone on the secretary's desk in a polite tone.

Then the youngest Warner sibling followed the portly man into the office.

"Now I want you to dictate for me." Plotz told her.

Dot cheerfully sat on the chair that was behind the desk and began to write as Plotz began speaking. As soon as he was done, he turned back to Dot.

"Dot, read that back to me." Plotz said.

The youngest Warner gave a blank look.

"Read what back to you?" she asked.

"The letter I just dictated!" Plotz exclaimed.

"Oh...was that for this?"

Then Plotz saw that she was really drawing a picture of herself and movie star Mel Gibson to which the CEO let out a furious and frustrated cry. He kicked Dot out of his office. In total desperation, he turned to the elder Warner.

"Yakko, can you take dictation?" he asked.

"Where do you want me to take it?" Yakko remarked.

"AARRRGHH!"

Plotz was just about ready to blow his top. Then he spotted Rem sitting on the couch silently browsing through another magazine.

"Rem?" the CEO called out anxiously.

Rem lowered the magazine in her hands and gave a low stare to which Plotz winced.

"Er...um, can you take dictation?" he asked with caution in his voice.

"...sure, whatever." Rem mumbled, getting off the couch.

She followed the short studio boss into his office and sat in the rolling chair.

"Okay...um, let's begin." Plotz stammered.

The CEO began talking and Rem began writing on the pad. Plotz nervously paced around the room as he dictated.

"Slow down." Rem spoke out. "You're going too fast."

"Oh, heh, yes...uh ahem." Plotz chuckled.

10 minutes later, the portly studio boss concluded the statement he wanted on his letter and turned back to Rem.

"Would you read that back to me?" Plotz asked.

"Issues on budget cuts, yada, yada, yada. Keep production on time..." Rem droned.

Plotz took the pad from her and read it. Her hand writing was a neat cursive script. It had everything that Plotz wanted on the memo. The Warners were curiously listening to the office door when it finally opened.

"Thank you very much, Rem." Plotz said with a surprised, amazed, and grateful expression while shaking Rem's hand.

"Yeah, whatever." Rem mumbled.

The Warners crowded around her as the CEO disappeared into his office.

"Whadja do?" Dot asked.

"Wrote him a freaking letter." Rem replied with a shrug. "Honestly, the way you guys work, you're going to give the man a heart attack."

They watched her walk off and shrugged at each other.

XXXXXXX

The next day, Dr. Scratchansniff was having individual sessions with the Warners. After toiling frustratingly with the other three, he finally got to Rem with much interest. As the P-sychiatrist had observed before, she was quite different from Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. All the while Rem didn't smile or partake in any jokes.

"Zo, Rem," Dr. Scratchansniff began. "can you tell your full name?"

"Rem Roth." she automatically answered.

"Just Rem Roth?"

"Yup."

Scratchansniff frowned. Quite an unusual name for a girl.

"Eh-heh-heh-heh. Vell Rem, vhere are you from?" the doctor asked.

"Palm Springs. In the projects district." Rem replied nonchalantly. "I'd rather be there than here."

"Vhy?"

"Well, forgive me for saying this, but I hate being around 1st class areas. I don't belong here. And I'm definitely not comfortable talking to a therapist."

"Vhy iz that Rem?"

Now the doctor was interested.

"I'm not comfortable with expressing myself." Rem admitted in a low tone.

"Nobody understands you?" Dr. Scratchansniff deduced.

"More along the lines of nobody _can't_ or _will never_ understand me. It's complicated.

"How do you feel?"

"I feel...nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing. Nada. Zip."

"Vell you must feel zomething."

Rem was silent.

"Well, I will tell you this. I'm very good at suppressing stuff." she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Scratchansniff made a deeper frown. That certainly wasn't healthy mental-wise. It also signaled a few red flags in his mind.

"Vhat about then you first came to us? Did you feel anything then?"

"I was pissed. I won't lie about that."

"Und Doktor Frankeninni?"

"If he's smart enough, he'll stay very far away from me. Cause if he doesn't, he'll get his neck snapped. Actually, that's too quick, I want the basterd to suffer."

Dr. Scratchansniff listened to Rem rather intently. He could see very clearly that this was definitely no Warner. There was no cheerfulness, no zaniness. The girl didn't even crack a grin for heaven sakes, not even when she expressed desire to murder Frankeninni. Her facial expression remained totally deadpan. The only emotion Scratchansniff seemed to find was anger and rage. But Rem wouldn't willingly disclose the reasons why. The feeling just popped out of nowhere like that, out of a deep dark void.

"Let's move on to zomething else, ja?" Dr. Scratchansniff said.

"Alrighty." Rem replied.

"Anything about family you vould like to discuss?"

Rem made a face and was quiet for a few minutes.

"That's...not a good topic for me." she said quietly.

"I'm villing to listen." Scratchansniff offered.

"I'm sure you are but, I just don't want to go into that. Ever."

Dr. Scratchansniff made a face. Rem was putting up quite a lot of resistance against him. It was like she was shutting everyone and everything completely out.

_Thees iz no gud. Perhaps I zhould work a little more with her._

XXXXXXX

After escaping the Water Tower, the Warner Brothers and Sister surfed atop a whale in the open ocean. Keeping their balance as the marine mammal playfully swam in the water below. Finally, they all got to the beach and disembarked from their _vessel_. The Warners waved good-bye to as is disappeared into the ocean. Then two minutes later, Rem walked onto the beach soaking wet.

"Interesting way of travel." she droned sarcastically.

"Whadja do? Catch a ride on Willie's tail?" Dot asked.

"More like his underside."

"Mwah! Gooooodnight everybody!" Yakko declared after hearing Rem's last statement.

"So what the hell are we doing here?" Rem asked, wringing out her skirt.

"Glad you asked that question, Rem." Yakko replied with a grin.

Then he and his younger siblings whipped out specifically colored mats, a cooler, and an umbrella. They put on sunglasses and laid out on the mats.

"You mean to tell me we came all this way just to freaking sunbathe?" Rem exclaimed.

"Why not?" Dot asked. "Don'tcha wanna tan?"

"Uh, no. I detest sunlight."

She started to walk off as Yakko sat up and lifted his sunglasses.

"Where ya goin'?" he asked with suspicion slightly coating his voice.

"Nowhere." Rem droned.

With that, she walked off. The Warners exchanged glances, then shrugs and returned to their relaxing poses.

xxxxxxxx

Rem walked across the beach in silence. The sound of waves crashing onto the shore put her almost at peace.

_Well, I guess this does beat the studio. The air's a lot fresher here._

She went up a hill, where a patch of grass began to grow as the sand turned to fertile soil. Rem looked up and saw big puffy white clouds slowly floating across the blue sky. Plopping down on the grass, she spread herself out and stared deep into the heavens above her. Relishing in the silence and the sounds of air and water.

_If the clouds would cover up the damn sun, I'd really be complete._

Meanwhile, a pirate ship was sailing along the island. Her captain spied on the Warner trio as they sun bathed, and was not too pleased to find them there.

"Those Warners be trespassin' on my Private Pirate Property again!" he shouted. "Full speed ahead ya scurvy knaves!"

The large vessel zipped all the way to shore. As soon as it landed, Captin' Mel went strutting about the deck.

"Load the cannons and fire!" he barked.

Cannons popped out of portholes of the ship and opened fire on the snoozing toons. The cannons balls all exploded upon landing, but when the smoke cleared, the Warners were already standing at a safe distance.

"Ehhhh, I think the cartoon just started." Yakko quirked.

"You be trespassin' on my Private Pirate Property!" Captin' Mel exclaimed.

"Say that 5 times fast." Wakko playfully told him.

"Private Pivot Pooperty, Pirat Puvot...Ooooooo! FIRE!"

Another cannon was fired but the Warners easily dodged it. The explosions caught the attention of another unwanted trespasser.

"What's all this?"

It was Rem.

"Oh hi, Rem. Nice of you to join us." Yakko said in a sarcastic tone.

"Whatever."

"WHO BE THIS?" Captin' Mel roared.

Rem stared at the short and stubby pirate with an expression of pure annoyance and total disinterest.

"You know what?" she declared. "I don't even wanna know what's going on."

She turned and started to walk away as Yakko and his younger brother and sister raised eyebrows at her while placing their hands on their hips. But the pirate boss wasn't about to let Rem get away that easily.

"OI! GET BACK HERE!" he shouted.

Rem continued to ignore him and walk away, making Captin' Mel growl in anger.

"I'll teach ye! Fire a cannon ball a'er!" he commanded.

Seconds later, a cannon ball was fired towards Rem's position. But she didn't seem to notice, and the Warners got a little nervous when the projectile got dangerously close to her.

"Rem, look out!" Wakko cried.

_(Now Playing: Run Rabbit Junk by hide)_

Before the warning even came, Rem slid out her blade and swiped it at the cannon ball, slicing it completely in two. The two separate pieces flew past Rem and at separate directions, exploding seconds later. Rem's fur and clothes fluttered by the force of the explosion. She slowly glared at Captin' Mel, who along with his crew of pirates, had a mask of shock.

"So you like to play rough, do ya?" Rem hissed.

"F-fire another cannon!" Captin Mel stammered. "FIRE! FIRE!"

His crew scrambled to fire more projectiles at Rem as she rushed forward like a silver bullet. The Warners flinched a little as she flew past them. Rem dodged every ounce of ammo that was fired at her and leapt onto the deck. Instead of using the actual blade, she swatted the pirate violently with its sheath. The pirates were knocked backwards, one was slammed into the mast. The others came at her, hoping to subdue the blue and lavender clad girl. Instead, they got a sample of 7 years experience of ninjitsu class from her. Nobody stood a chance. The Warners suddenly appeared on the deck, tapping their feet and shaking their heads at her.

"You know, this could very well turn out to be the next Bruce Lee flick." Yakko remarked.

"Or _The Karate Kid._" Dot added.

Rem continued fighting until the last pirate fell to the deck floor unconscious. The she turned her attention on Captin' Mel. Shivering in his place, he whipped out a pistol and unloaded a few rounds on her. But she repelled each bullet with her blade at a high speed. Rem continued approaching hime as he backed away until she lifted him off the ground.

_(End Music)_

"Got anything else, asshole?" she snapped.

"Must it always end in violence with you?" Yakko sighed, suddenly appearing by Rem's side.

"Then _you_ deal with the basterd!"

Rem threw the stumpy pirate down on the wooden floor beneath them in a huff, and walked away.

"A bloody nightmare she be!" Captin' Mel rasped.

"You're tellin' me." Dot remarked.

XXXXXX

The next week, the Warners and Rem were back for a short session with Dr. Scratchansniff. The mood was noticeably different than before. The four of them were all in a sour mood.

"Zo my little...friends," Scratchansniff stammered anxiously. "how are things coming along."

"They stink." the Warners said together.

"Like being in the fourth circle of hell..." Rem muttered.

"Oh that's such a cheerful expression." Yakko growled sarcastically.

"...shut up." Rem growled back.

"Now, children." Dr. Scratchansniff began in a stern voice. "Let's all be a little friendly with eet each other, ja?"

"Tell that to _her._" Dot replied, pointing a thumb at Rem. "I mean she slices everything she sees."

Rem suppressed a growl but chose to ignore Dot's last remark.

_Not everything..._

She got up and started to walk away, fed up already.

"Now where the heck are you goin'?" Yakko exclaimed.

"Nowhere. Again." Rem replied rather rudely.

As soon as she left, an irritated Yakko got off the couch and pulled out a mallet out of his hammer space.

"That does it!" he growled as he went after Rem, carrying his mallet.

Then the elder Warner felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Dr. Scratchansniff.

"Eh, Yakko. I think that you zhould give Rem her zome time to herself, ja?" the therapist told him.

"Are you kiddin' me?" Yakko exclaimed.

"Scratchy, she's rude, violent, and she's got a potty mouth!" Dot added.

"I know, I know." Dr. Scratchansniff admitted. "But Rem jus needs her zpace for now. I believe her anger towards Dokter Frankeninni eez making her act out a little."

_Although there could be more to it than zat..._

"Oh, you think?" Dot exclaimed.

"Jus give her zome time to herself, ja?"

The toon children exchanged highly irritated glances. Rem was starting to wear their patience thin.

XXXXXXX

Rem stomped out of the studio lot, not caring of she ran into Ralph or any other security guard for that matter. She went around the corner and walked past a few buildings trying to get as far away from the Warners as possible before they decided to follow her. Rem's presence around Burbank however did not go unnoticed. Peeking from a trashcan as Rem walked by, was Rita and Runt. They exchanged curious glances as she went past them.

"Is that another Warner kid?" Rita asked.

"Duh...definitely don't know." Runt stammered. "Duh-Definitely."

Rem continued her walk and caught the attention of others. Buttons and Mindy curiously watched her as her shadow slid across the sidewalk before them. When she passed by the Acme Labs, she gained the attention of Pinky and the Brain. Finally, Rem came to a local park and sat down on a white bench to rest a little. A bit further ahead, was the statue of Martin Scorsese. She let out an exasperated sigh, which awoke the three snoozing pigeons. They saw Rem sitting on the bench and looked at each other.

"Well, well." Bobby said. "Look what we got over here."

They fluttered down from the statue and perched atop the back rest of the bench. Rem become aware of their presence but decided not to take any note of it.

"What's with you, kid?" Pesto asked.

"A large sea of calamity..." Rem muttered lowly.

The Goodfeathers looked at each other confusingly.

"I think she might be a Goth." Squit whispered, putting his wing to the side of his beak.

"I'm not goth." Rem said aloud. "I'm just...really, really, emo."

"What's that?" Squit asked.

"Like being submerged in a deep void where you hate everything."

"Hmmm, I think had one of those before." Pesto mused thoughtfully.

"Bada bing, like having a bad day, ya know what I'm sayin'?" Bobby added.

Rem was quiet.

_A __**really**__ bad day..._

"So kid, ya new around here?" Pesto asked.

"A little.." Rem sighed.

Frankly, she was getting really tired of all the attention she was receiving since she got there. It seemed like everywhere Rem went, there was always some curious bystander that wanted to meet her. The whole thing sort of hurt her ego because she was so used to being alone.

_I wonder if this is what Alice goes through everyday._

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, back in Dr. Scratchansniff's office, the studio therapist was working with both Wakko and Mr. Plotz in their cases of Clownophobia.

"_A clown eez my friend._" Scratchansniff dictated.

"_A clown is my friend._" Wakko and Mr. Plotz repeated together.

"_A clown weel not bite me or throw me in za basement._"

"_A clown will not bite me or throw me the basement._"

"Gud, gud! Now today, I'm going to do zomething a little different. I'm going to have you confront your inner feers."

"What do you mean, Scratchansniff?" Plotz asked.

"You'll zee."

The p-sychiatrist got up from his chair and went to his desk.

"Bring in za clown." he spoke into the intercom after pressing the button.

Both Wakko and Plotz threw panicked looks.

"C-clown?" Plotz sputtered.

Bursting into the office was a tall, skinny man dressed up like a clown. As a matter of fact, this was the same clown that came to the studio for Wakko's birthday.

"Hello, nice people!" the Clown shouted.

Both Plotz and Wakko shot up towards the ceiling like rockets as soon as they saw him. They clung to the chandelier paralyzed with fear.

"Now, now, T.P., Wakko, thees eez not a gud way to conquer your feers." Dr. Scratchansniff said sternly.

"SCRATCHANSNIFF! I ORDER YOU TO GET THAT CLOWN OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT!" Plotz bellowed.

"Oh poor Mr. Man..." the Clown said shaking his hand.

Then the jovial man pulled out a microphone and started to sing.

_"When you want to scream, put away_

_that frown. And never be scared of a _

_clown._

_Laugh on, laugh on, you'll never laugh_

_alone!"_

But Wakko and T.P. shook even more in fear and let out terrified screams before literally throwing themselves out the window. Dr. Scratchansniff let out an irritated sigh.

"Don't worry doctor man." the Clown said. "I'll do my entertainment for the boy and Mr. Man so they'll scream no more. Hoyle!"

And with that, the down walked merrily out of the room in search of Scratchansniff's frightened patients. Whom of which were hiding in earnest from the Clown.

"Where are you boy and Mr. Man?" the curly orange haired man called out.

Then he came to a bushel of small palm trees. When he pulled the branches apart, he found both Wakko and Plotz hiding beneath them.

"Oh there you are!" the Clown happily cried.

"CLOWN!" Wakko screamed.

He pummeled the unfortunate jester with his large mallet and followed after Plotz who was already racing to get away. They got to the front of the studio when Rem was just barely coming back. Wakko caught her in the corner of his eye and quickly made a grab for her.

"Rem! Help! CLOWN!" the turtleneck shirt clad Warner cried.

"The who what now?" Rem slightly stuttered.

Then she saw the Clown coming towards them.

_...What the HELL?_

As the Clown approached, Plotz and Wakko quickly took cover behind Rem. The Clown became even more jovial when his _audience_ slightly increased.

"Oh! Hello, nice girl!" he cried.

Rem blinked once as she carried an expression of shock mixed with annoyance and irritation. The Clown quickly saw her refusal to grin and laugh at his antics.

"What's wrong? Can't you smile?" he asked.

Rem remained silent, retaining her expression. Seeing this and Plotz and Wakko's continued cowering in absolute terror, prompted him to pull out his microphone and sing again.

"_When the whipporwill whippers_

_in the wind, the wind can whipper_

_back. Oh nice and chu-_"

_****__**SLAAAAAAAAAAP!**_

While the clown was singing, Rem had slowly brought her hand up and swiped it hard and fast across the Clown's cheek. She hit him with so much force, the clown actually flew backwards. Yakko and Dot were just barely coming around a corner of a soundstage when the clown landed violently into three trash cans to their front left, making them stop dead and jump.

"Whoa!" Yakko exclaimed.

They turned and saw Rem standing tall with her hand a little over her chest and with a dark and furious glare.

"Out of my face, you worm." she hissed in a murderous tone.

With that, she left the scene and back to the Water Tower, silently fuming. Wakko and Plotz stood there in total shock.

"I don't know who's scarier. Rem or the Clown." Plotz nervously remarked.

* * *

**AN: Captin' Mel is from the episode _H.M.S. Yakko_(I think), and the Clown is from _Clown and Out. _The X's represent change in scene and the small x's represent the same scene but in the passing of time if that makes sense.**

**Song List**

**-Let's Get Lost (Beck and Bat for Lashes)**

**-Full Moon (The Black Ghosts)**

**-Run Rabbit Junk (hide)**

**-Sick (Evanscense)**


	8. Act II Prelude

***Act II***

_She was out of breath. Completely out of breath. She has never ran so fast in her whole life. Her heart crashing violently in and out of her chest from all that running and the fact she almost had a literal run-in with a number of two-ton automobile._

_She now stood beside a tree. Shaking and staring deeply into the dark blue sea below her. Her mind going in several directions and not thinking clearly nor straight. She continued towards the cliff in a split decision to just throw it all away right then and there. Once more unto the breach, she plunged like a stone into the abyss below. Not caring what happened one bit._


	9. I AM NOT A WARNER!

***Chapter 1: I AM NOT A WARNER!***

A month had passed. Already a month. Rem couldn't believe it. But that's what her pocket calendar told her.

_I have to wonder if anyone back home noticed my absence. Probably not..._

Rem's concentration was broken by the sounds of the Warners' train roller coaster set. She had watching them do weird stuff in the Water Tower all the time. Sometimes Rem had to question their desire to constantly leave the Tower at all whenever the opportunity presented itself. She got up from her bed and meandered to the couch. There was no point in trying to meditate since all the noise that was being created was a bit much to tune out. So instead, Rem grabbed the remote for the TV set and turned it on. The Warners' train set screeched to a stop, emitting high levels of steam as Rem flipped through channels. Yakko frowned after seeing her slumped on the couch.

"Is that all you're gonna do?" he asked pointedly.

"Yup." Rem droned.

She had no desire to join the toon kids in their little games and antics. No one had to worry about her feeling left out. Yakko rubbed his temple in silent frustration. He started to question his earlier decision on keeping her there with them. To him, she was nothing short of a depressing whack-job. That night, the three siblings, all on Yakko's bed, covered under his quilt, and with Wakko holding up a flashlight, discussed their 'house guest' in a make-shift 'family meeting'.

"I don't know, Yakko." Dot said. "She's kinda cramping our style. Plus it's gotten weird not being the only girl..."

"Can't disagree with you there, sis." Yakko agreed thoughtfully.

"Come on, sibs, let's give her another chance." Wakko said. "Besides, maybe what Scratchy said about Rem is true."

"Like a street kid from the wrong side of the tracks." Dot remarked in a low voice.

There was a brief silence.

"Well...ehhhhhh, alright. We'll give her one more chance." Yakko finally said. "Come on, sibs, let's get some shut-eye."

Unbeknownst to them, Rem was eavesdropping on their conversation and pretending to be asleep. She was quite dismayed at the final decision.

_Fuck, I was really hoping they'd cut me loose. Figures..._

XXXXXXX

The morning after, Rem was by herself in the commissary while the other three were pulling their usual antics on the unfortunate staff of the Administration Building and helping herself to some coffee. Dr. Scratchansniff spotted her on his way to his office. He noticed that she was by herself and made a frown.

"Eh, Rem?" he called out.

"'Sup?" Rem said lowly, while twirling around the coffee stirrer in her cup.

"How are you doing today?"

_Bitchin'. Just bitchin'..._

"I'm fine."

"Eh, heh-heh. Vell, I have a little favor to ask of you."

"Which is?"

"Vould you mind helping me in my office?"

"...Sure, whatever."

She followed the studio shrink to his office. Scratchansniff was thinking that this would be a good way to get Rem's mind off all the negativity running through it. The Warner's came into the commissary shortly thereafter.

XXXXXXX

In his office, Dr. Scratchansniff had received a box of brand new encyclopedias of human psychology.

"Now, Rem." the p-sychiatrist began. "Can you alvabetize thees for me?"

"Sure." Rem replied.

Right away, Rem started taking out each of the books and putting them in neat piles before alphabetizing them. Scratchansniff observed her while he looked through his papers. What amazed him was the fact that she was actually doing what she was told without giving him a hard time with gags, jokes, or extreme zaniness. He also noticed that Rem was very quiet, not even bothering to strike up a friendly conversation. She hadn't really said much or anything at all since she came in. With the Warners, they never shut up. They were extremely talkative.

"Sorting's done." Rem said, after placing the last book on the shelf.

Scratchansniff's head jumped up as she suddenly broke the silence.

"Oh, heh-heh, Thank you, Rem." he replied.

"Anything else you want me to do?" Rem replied.

"Ah, no. Zat's all for now. Vhy don't you go join za Varner Brothers, ja?"

Rem made a face. It was clear that she _really_ didn't want go back into their fold. But what choice did she have?

"Alrighty. Catch you later, I guess." she told the therapist.

Rem left the office and back into the Administration Building where she last saw the trio. If she was lucky, they would be in some other part of the world doing their usual screwy stuff.

"Oh Rem, good to see you!"

It was Plotz, peeking out of his office.

"What's up?" Rem asked.

"Do you think you could file a few contracts for me?" Plotz eagerly asked.

Salvation.

"Not at all."

XXXXXXX

"Alright, this is getting nuts. Where the heck _is_ Rem?"

Yakko and his two siblings had been searching for their charge ever since she disappeared with Dr. Scratchansniff. They went about the entire lot looking for Rem.

"Gee, I hope she didn't get lost." Wakko said.

"I hope she didn't kill anyone." Dot remarked.

A few minutes later, they spotted Rem walking out of the Administration Building. They all zipped over to her side.

"Where have you been?" Dot demanded.

"Around." Rem muttered.

"Let's be a little more specific there." Yakko said.

Rem made a really sour face.

"Alright, I went to Scratchansniff and Plotz's office. HAPPY?" she ranted.

Yakko and Dot crossed their arms and raised eyebrows.

"Why did you go there?" Wakko asked curiously.

"Because the dudes needed assistance." Rem simply answered and started to walk away. "Honestly, what's the big deal?"

Yakko got ahold of her tail and yanked her backwards.

"The deal is missy, that's not our work quota." he said.

"Oh and driving other people absolutely insane is?" Rem questioned.

"You betcha!"

Yakko and Rem were practically staring daggers at each other. Wakko, trying to think of something to break it up, spotted Ralph coming their way.

"Guys, we've got trouble!" he frantically whispered.

As Ralph passed by and went towards his security booth, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot comically hid behind a tree while Rem simply hid behind a wall. As soon as he was gone, they all came out of hiding.

"Why the hell do we hide from him again?" Rem asked.

"Because he throws us back in the Tower, silly." Dot told her. "Whoa, waaay dumber than advertised."

"Whatever. I don't get it, but whatever."

XXXXXXX

Slappy Squirrel was outside her tree house watering her garden when the Warner trio came trotting around the corner. She noticed that Rem wasn't with them and turned towards the other way. Rem was coming slowly around the corner, not skipping around like the other three, but merely walking.

"You're not much in the toonin' business are ya?" Slappy called out.

"Not at all." Rem flatly replied. "I'm not into it."

Slappy raised an eyebrow.

"You can't stand there and tell me you never laughed in your life." she said.

"Never." Rem told her.

Slappy stared at her for a little bit. The girl was surely bluffing. Even the biggest hard asses had to have cracked one at least once in their lifetime. Then the squirrel was starting to receive some strange vibes from Rem as she continued on her way following the Warners. Whatever it was, it was disturbing. Very disturbing. Normally, Slappy wouldn't even involve herself in such things. Being a cartoon character, it just wasn't in her nature. But the..._messages_ Rem was outputting, were a little too much to be ignored. There would be times when even the most zany toon, like Slappy, would have to get a little serious.

_There's definitely something wrong with that girl..._

xxxxxxx

At the end of the day, when Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Rem finally returned to the Water tower, Dr. Scratchansniff was watching them from his office with a very concerned expression. Since the week began, more red flags on Rem's behavior were raised in his mind. He had been trying to reach out to her for the month and yet, no progress had been made. Like a fly trying to get past a brick wall. In fact, Rem's behavior seemed to be slowly getting worse.

_Eef thees continues, I vill have to inform Mr. Plotz about eet..._

XXXXXXXX

The next morning, Rem felt like hell. Lately, she wasn't totally herself. Rem usually was a pacifist, trying to avoid any form of conflict at all times. But being in the cartoon world of Burbank was driving her absolutely insane.

_Seriously, I __**must**__ have died and went to hell..._

Rem left the Water Tower with the Warner siblings still asleep, taking her katanna with her. She needed to find some inner peace before she would burst with aggravation. Going from the studio, Rem wandered aimlessly around the city like a lost ghost. The sounds of voices, traffic, and construction sites went through her mind like water. Finally, she came to an area where she was surrounded by trees and bushes. Rem stopped in her movements and stood very still, letting the light wind pass through her. Then, in a fit of slight emotion, Rem pulled out her blade and quickly swiped off a few twigs and branches clean off the bushes and trees surrounding her. Another pause. A leaf then fell from a high branch and Rem slashed it in two before it landed on the grassy floor beneath her feet.

_I feel better now._

"That was quite impressive."

Rem spun around towards the sound of the voice but found no one.

"Down here."

Rem looked down and saw a pair of albino mice standing in front of her. One had an enlarged cranium and the other was taller with a goofy look on his face.

"You have got to be freaking kidding me." Rem said to herself aloud.

"Oh, I just love how you trimmed the hedges. NARF!" the taller mouse cheerfully complimented.

"Allow me to introduce myself." the shorter mouse said. "I am Brain, and this is my associate, Pinky."

"Hello! ZORT!" Pinky said.

"Umm..hey." Rem replied in a low voice.

_Holy crap, I feel like Cinderella right now...dammit._

"Tell me, are you of those Warner children?" Brain asked.

"No, my last name is Roth." Rem replied.

"I see. Well, your sword skills are quite admirable."

"Oh yes, you think you can stop by the Lab and help with the garden work?" Pinky asked.

"Quiet, Pinky." Brain scolded.

"Is there a point to this?" Rem asked, growing rather impatient.

"Yes. We are mice on a mission to take over the world."

_That's...interesting.._

"And after observing your sword skills, I wanted to ask if you would like to join our conquest." Brain concluded.

Rem made a really sullen face. Why couldn't everyone just leave her the hell alone?

"Sorry. I'm not interested." Rem said with a hint of malice in her voice. "Right now, I could really care less about the world."

With that, she turned away and left. The two mice were a little befuddled with Brian looking dejected and Pinky bearing a concerned expression.

"Well, that didn't go as I originally planned." Brain muttered.

"I think she feels kinda down, Brain. Poit." Pinky said.

xxxxxxx

When Rem returned to the Studio, she encountered the Warner trio waiting for her. Both Yakko and Dot had highly irritated looks on their faces. Wakko not so much. Rem returned their expression.

_Well, here we go again..._

"Do I have to ask where've you been for the past 30 minutes?" Yakko asked as Rem passed through the gates.

She was a bit struck by the seriousness in his voice. He wasn't joking around or doing some zany antics this time. A side of him that people very rarely ever saw. He was actually serious.

"I just went into some local park for a breather. Nothing more." Rem told him.

"Well lemme be frank," Yakko replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "your sneaking around is _really_ starting to spoil how we do things around here."

_And I care, why?_

"Well I _profoundly_ apologize." Rem said sarcastically.

"ARRGH! Why do you have to be so rude?" Dot cried.

"I'm not trying to be. It's how I am."

"Well, if you can't at least _try_ and follow protocol, then we're going to have problems." Yakko said sternly.

"Oh dear, what a horrifying thought..." Rem muttered.

"ALL RIGHT THAT'S IT!" Dot exclaimed. "WE'VE HAD IT WITH YOUR ATTITUDE!"

"Yeah, if you really hate it here so much, then why stay at all?" Yakko questioned.

That snapped a nerve in Rem's mind. Now she was pissed.

"EXCUSE ME?" she screamed. "YOU'RE THE ONES WHO WANTED ME TO BE HERE IN THE FIRST FREAKING PLACE! I _NEVER_ WANTED TO STAY!"

Yakko, a bit taken aback by the rage in her voice, folded his arms.

"Fine. You wanna leave? Then go right ahead. Here's your stuff." he said in a calm voice.

"_Thank you!_" Rem exclaimed. "I think I will!"

She snatched her back pack out of Yakko's hands and marched straight for the gate without any hesitation.

"IT WAS NICE KNOWIN' YA!" Yakko called out sarcastically.

"YOU TOO!" Rem shot back.

As she approached the gales, Ralph attempted to stop her.

"Duuh,-"

"FUCK OFF!" Rem hissed.

Poor Ralph flinched and winced as she went right past him. Meanwhile Yakko and Dot gave look of disdain and started to walk back to the Tower. Only Wakko seemed to be unsettled that Rem had left them.

"Don'tcha guys think that was too much?" he asked softly.

"Nope." Yakko answered automatically.

"Good riddance." Dot added.

Wakko looked back at the studio gates with a frown.


	10. A Concerned Psychiatrist

***Chapter 2: A Concerned P-sychiatrist***

After leaving the Studio, Rem promptly went to the Bus Station to purchase another ticket. Unfortunately, the only bus seats available were once on a tour bus that would be making various stops all over Southern California. It would be quite a while before she could actually reach her home town. But by then Rem didn't care. As long as it made a stop to Palm Springs, she was satisfied. Rem wouldn't feel totally at ease until the bus actually took off from the stop and onto the freeway.

Meanwhile, back the Warner Bros. studio lot, no one but the trio of cartoon kids seemed to notice that Rem had left. She was only gone for a few minutes and already Wakko was feeling lonely without her. Yakko and Dot seemed to be totally unfazed by her absence.

At first.

XXXXXXX

**Monday.**

**Tuesday.**

**Wednesday.**

**Thursday.**

**Friday**.

XXXXXXX

Only a week had passed and already the Warners were starting feel an emptiness of Rem not being amongst them and under their roof. Yakko and Dot were trying to ignore the feeling, while Wakko was feeling really lonesome now.

"I MISS REM!" the red capped Warner bellowed.

Yakko and Dot were sitting at the table leaning their chins on their hands and looking as if they hadn't slept in days.

"Yeah, we know..." Dot droned.

Rem's absence was really starting to take its toll on Yakko. As the common phrase goes, it was hard being the oldest. He couldn't help but feel a sort of responsibility towards his former charge. As the leader-and paternal guardian-of his siblings, an awful sense of failure was slowly welling up in his gut and as much as he tried to, it was getting increasingly difficult to ignore.

"Don't we have an appointment with Scratchy or something?" he muttered, in an effort to distract himself from the tiny angel and devil appearing on his shoulders.

"Nope. We don't." Dot answered dryly.

"Wanna go bug him anyway?"

"Let's. Come on, Wakko."

The trio then set off in search of the studio shrink.

XXXXXXX

Dr. Scratchansniff was on his way to Plotz's office. He finally resolved to inform the studio boss of his concerns regarding Rem. The doctor came to the little man's door and politely knocked.

"Mr. Plotz?" he called out. "May I have a vord vith you?"

"Yes, come in." Plotz replied in a bored sounding voice.

Scratchansniff walked into the boss' office with an anxious look on his face.

"Well, what is it?" Plotz asked. "This better not be about the Warners."

"Eh, no." the P-sychiatrist said. "Eet's about Rem, sir."

The CEO then put on a cheerful grin.

"Oh yes!" he said gleefully. "She is such a big help. I rather like having her around. You know, I may have had my doubts at first, but she's such a wonderful and cultured girl."

Plotz let out a heartfelt chuckle. He stopped when he noticed that Scratchansniff wasn't as giddy as he was.

"I'm vorried." Scratchansniff said gravely. "I'm very vorried about her behavior."

"Why?" Plotz asked. He was a little shocked to say the least.

"Vell, I vill admit zat Rem eez polite and cultured. Zomething zat the Varner Brothers zeverly lack. But I'm very concerned about her zychological make-up."

"How do you mean?"

Just then, Slappy walked right into the chairman of the board's office.

"Plotz? We gotta talk." the old squirrel declared in a surprisingly serious tone.

"One moment, Ms. Squirrel." Plotz replied. "Dr. Scratchansniff and I are in the middle of discussing our newest arrival."

"You mean Rem?"

"Uh...why yes."

"Good, then we're on the same page. Look Plotz, I don't know about you, but there's really somethin' wrong with that kid."

"Exactly vhat I vas zaying." Dr. Scratchansniff agreed.

Meanwhile, the Warner trio had followed the p-sychiatrist to Plotz's office. Behind the ajar door, they listened in on the conversation between Mr. Plotz, Slappy, and Dr. Scractchansniff with some interest.

"I've been reading zome cases zat zeem to match vith Rem's behavior." the therapist continued. "I believe zat Rem had zevere depression, extreme anti-zocialness, and perhaps a leetle bit of post turmatic ztress deesorder."

Plotz blinked.

"Post traumatic stress disorder?" he inquired confusingly.

"Yes. After a few zessions vith Rem, I have a feeling zat zhe may have zuffered zome form of abuse. I could be vrong, but vith her refusal to communicate, I can't know for zure." Scratchansniff replied.

"Oh my."

"Now I fear zat vhat might have happened in Rem's past eez zeverely affecting her behavior and judgement. I find zome zymptoms that make for very great mental unhealthyness."

"I agree." Slappy added with a nod. "Girl carries around a blade for pete sakes."

Plotz was rather taken aback by this information. He always thought that Rem was a nice girl. The Warner siblings, whom were still listening behind the door, started to feel guilt absorb them like a sponge to water.

"See? I toldja!" Wakko whispered to his older brother and younger sister.

"I fear zat if ve don't do zomething to reverse thees, Rem might become a danger to herself and others." Scratchansniff concluded.

Now the studio boss was starting to feel rather anxious.

"Well, um...what should we do, Scratchansniff?" he stammered.

"We're not sayin' she has to be thrown into a looney bin, T.P." Slappy said. "And it's not like she's a raving lunatic. She just needs some help. But the doctor over here, is right about one thing. The girl will be a ticking time bomb if we ignore this."

Plotz gave a little sigh of relief. For a moment he thought he had a truly devastating problem on his hands. But it seemed that Dr. Scratchansniff knew how to deal with the issue.

"Well, alright." the CEO said. "Lemme call the Warners in then."

"Don't bother, T.P. We're already here."

Slowly, the siblings entered the office with sullen and ashamed expressions on their faces.

"What's with you?" Slappy asked. "And where's Rem?"

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot shared glances like they were in trouble.

"We...kinda made her leave." Yakko admitted in a low voice.

"YOU DID WHAT?" Slappy exclaimed.

"YOU THREE HAD NO AUTHORITY TO DO THAT!" Plotz bellowed.

"We know." the siblings muttered in unison.

"But vhy did you do zat?" Dr. Scratchansniff asked with a frustrated sigh.

"Well...we kinda thought she was being a jerk." Dot explained, with her head hanging, her hands behind her back, and her foot digging into the floor.

"I had a feeling somethin' was bugging her." Yakko added. "But I didn't think it was ithat/i bad."

Slappy pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Great, now what do we do?" she ranted.

"I know what we'll do!" Wakko declared, pointing towards the ceiling. "We'll bring Rem back."

"How? She's probably miles away from here by now."

"True." Yakko said smoothly, approaching the elder squirrel. "But knowing Rem so far, I think we'll have an easy process of elimination."

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later, the Warner trio, Slappy-along with Skippy-and Dr. Scratchansniff were at the bus station. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot went up to a free teller clerk as soon as they arrive.

"Hey miss, have you seen a girl, about yea tall, wears a blue flower, a frown, and spiky hair?" Yakko asked.

It took the clerk a moment to recall seeing Rem.

"Oh yes." she said. "I sold her a seat on a tour bus."

"Is there any way to find out where it's headed to?" Dot asked in earnest.

"Well, tomorrow, it will be arriving in Santa Monica."

"Santa Monica?" Slappy said. "Hey, that ain't too far from here."

"Thanks a bunch, you're a doll." Yakko told the clerk.

The clerk let out a giggle as he hopped off the ticket booth.

XXXXXXX

Rem gazed out the window from her sat all the way in the back of the bus. Since the tour bus was getting closer to the beach cities, the outside temperatures became cooler. A bit too cool for Rem, being temperature sensitive. So on their previous stop, she acquired a black hoodie jacket. It was a little big on her, but she didn't care. Rem curled up in her seat and partially buried herself into her jacket as the chilly and brisky air touched her.

Since leaving the Warner Bros. studio, it was like a huge load off Rem's mind. She felt relief just pour over her. Now she could really look forward to getting back to Palm Springs and put this whole..._misadventure_, behind her for good. Well...almost, as Rem still had the body of a Warner kid. It was the only thing from this whole episode that she was willing to live with.

_At least I have black hair now, which is kinda cool._

Rem slowly closed her eyes in an attempt to take a nap while on the road. Before she knew it, the intercom on the bus went off.

"_Attention, we're about to make our stop at Santa Monica. Remember to keep your valuables with you before you leave the bus. Thank you_."

Rem let out a sigh and contemplated on whether or not to stay on the bus while the tourists went around Santa Monica.

_Meh. What the hell, I can check out a bookstore while I'm here._

Rem swung her backpack and her katanna-inside the hockey stick carrier-over her shoulders and boarded off the bus with the rest of the tourists. As the crowd of camera-snapping people dispersed, Rem went a different direction.

xxxxxxx

Yakko, Wakko, Dot and Dr. Scratchansniff in one car, and Slappy and Skippy in another, pulled into the city of Santa Monica 15 minutes later. After turning a few corners and through a couple of intersections, they spotted the tour bus.

"There's our bus." Yakko said. "Now we just gotta find her."

"Thank goodness we made flyers." Dot added as she and Wakko held up a huge stack of missing person notices.

* * *

**AN: Hang to your hats folks, da next one gonna be wild!**


	11. Almost

**AN: A word of caution. This chapter has themes of attempted suicide in it. Not anything too extreme, but yeah. Just thought I'd give you the fair warning ;)**

* * *

***Chapter 3: Almost...***

Rem found her bookstore and promptly went indoors. To her dismay, there was quite a bit of people inside.

_Well, this is just __**lovely**__..._

Moving through small groups of people at every turn, Rem made her way to the graphic novels section. If there weren't so much people around, she could spend the whole day there just reading. At least until it was time to return to the bus. She examined the whole array of graphic novel titles on the wooden shelves.

_Dude, it's been A WHILE since I've read any of these._

Rem picked up one book and started to read. Inner peace set in as she planted her eyes on the illustrations. Tuning out the store music and the lively chatter amongst the other customers.

"Excuse me, Miss Bookstore Lady."

"Can I help you?"

Rem's inner peace shattered when she heard _his_ voice. She jerked her head up to the left and saw _them._

_You...have got to be freaking kidding me!_

She promptly pulled her head down to avoid being seen. Then she slid the hood of her jacket over her head, almost covering it completely. Her blood pressure jumped in her anxiety.

_Wait...calm down. They're probably just here to screw around._

Rem kept her eyes on the small book in her hands, trying not to panic.

"Have you seen this girl? She carries around a backpack and uh..._hockey stick._" Yakko's voice asked.

"Well, I'm not sure..."

Rem's face was drained of color.

_Oh my God. They __**are**__ looking for me._

"Please Miss Bookstore Lady," Dot's voice pleaded. "we have to find her!"

"Yeah, we miss her!" Wakko's voice bellowed.

Rage started to fill Rem along with the panic.

_I am NOT going back. No way in hell!_

She quickly placed the book back in its shelf and made her way out of the bookstore, keeping her head down so the hood of her jacket would cover her face.

xxxxxxx

The Warners had walked into the bookstore while Dr. Scratchansniff waited in the car outside. Since the trio had seen Rem reading so much from before, they figured that they might have some luck searching the bookstore. The female saleslady called one of her coworkers to see if he could be of help.

"Hey, Mike, do you think you might have seen this girl here?" she asked. "These kids are looking for her."

"Hmmm, I don't I have..." he mused.

The siblings quickly became disillusioned and bored by the employees' chatter. Yakko, with his hands on his hips, glanced around towards the entrance of the store. There were small groups of people crowded the various new book stands, and some kid in a black hoodie, trying to anxiously get past them to the doors. Yakko turned his head back towards the customer service desk for a brief second.

_Wait...what the...?_

His eye was caught by the kid in the black hoodie again. He happened to look down at the feet and observed how the kid was quite adamant to get out of the store. Yakko nudged his younger siblings in the elbows.

"Hey, sibs..." he whispered.

The trio turned their attention from the customer service desk and noticed the shifty black hooded character.

"Maybe we should get the manager..." the saleslady continued.

"Ehhhhhh, no thanks." Yakko said.

"But we appreciate the help." Dot added.

The trio started towards the exit and went out the door. The Hoodie Character seemed to have disappeared. But they caught 'him' just barely turning a corner. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot narrowing their eyes, followed. The Character didn't seem to notice that they were following 'him', judging from the way she was walking. They went around the corner and saw 'him' in full form. 'His' feet and the hockey stick carrier, was all the proof they needed to know it was Rem. She crossed the street but the Warners were too late to follow as the street traffic signal lights had changed again and the cars covered their target completely. When the signals changed again and the cars disappeared, their target was now far off and running as fast as her legs could carry her. Leaving the Warners extremely baffled.

"What the heck is she doin'?" Yakko exclaimed as he and his siblings darted after her.

xxxxxxx

Rem anxiously had made her way out of the bookstore, trying to keep a cool head. But as she walked towards the crosswalk, she had a sixth sense that she was being followed. By _them._ She crossed the street, still retaining a calm demeanor. When Rem heard the cars go by behind her, it was her cue to make a run for it. In her desperation to get away, she had forgotten to use her new and special gift of toon speed. She just ran and ran, not even daring to look back. Rem was determined not to be dragged back to Burbank. Whatever it took, she was not going back. Dr. Scratchansniff had followed the Warners in his car after seeing them go after Rem. When he too saw her running frantically away, he put the pedal to the metal in his car but at the same time, trying not to cause a traffic accident. Rem caught him in the corner of her eye and jerked to the left. Yakko, Wakko, Dot were quite a ways behind her but were hot on her heels. Slappy, who was driving around the city, caught sight of Rem darting across the street and sidewalks with the Warners following on the other side.

_What in the name of Andrew Davis is goin' on here?_

Rem continued to flee from her vast pursuers, now in an even more desperate urge to escape them. She then saw that she was headed for a large intersection that had no cross walk. The traffic signals were about to change, which meant that she would be blocked by oncoming cars. But it was her only hope of total escape. Turning another corner would only result in going in circles and at that point, she didn't care if she died trying to get away. With an expression of grim determination and little regard for the grave consequences, Rem picked up her speed. When the Warners saw that she was headed straight for the street, they started to panic. Especially Yakko.

"Rem!" he called out, trying to at least gain her attention.

But it didn't work. Rem completely ignored him and continued towards the street. The signal changed and yet it didn't deter her as her pursuers hoped. As the Warners saw she was about to go into oncoming traffic, they nearly had a heart attack.

_**"REM!"**_ Yakko shouted in sheer panic. _**"REM, STOP!"**_

Rem darted out onto the open road in the midst of heavy traffic. Slappy, watching the whole thing unfold, abruptly halted her car and burst out of it, in an attempt to stop her, but was too late to stop Rem without endangering herself. Skippy nervously covered his eyes, not bearing to look as everyone else held their breaths and just waited to hear the sounds of a two-ton automobile trying to screech to a halt, colliding with Rem, and seeing her mangled body on the road in a matter of seconds. But it didn't happen. Rem managed to narrowly evade the high-speed approaching cars with one just barely missing her. Although some cars did try to stop to avoid hitting her, they missed the sprinting toon girl anyway.

_Don't stop. Keep running..._

And finally, Rem made it to the other side and continued frantically down the sidewalk. Meanwhile, everyone else stared after her, still in shock and fear, but relieved. Yakko's eyes never left Rem.

_She made it. She made it..._

XXXXXXX

Rem turned another corner and hid behind hedge bush. She was totally out of breath. She clutched her chest as her out-of-control pulse throbbed and stared at the ground with wide eyes. For a minute, Rem thought that she was going to pass out. She was defiantly shaken from the whole episode and it was something she would NOT repeat. Rem fell a little on her knees, putting a hand over her face and shutting her eyes really tight.

_Oh my God...I can't believe I did that._

After a few minutes of trying to collect her thoughts, Rem got up from her place and started to walk off.

xxxxxxx

The Warners along with Dr. Scratchansniff, Slappy and Skippy, regrouped. Slappy was furiously ranting on Rem's recklessness while Scratchansniff tried to calm her down. The Warner trio stood there in total silence and at a loss for words. Never in their whole existence had anyone actually risked their life just to get away from them. They may have cost some people their sanity, but never their life. The siblings went that far. And yet, Rem did. In some strange way, it felt like one of their own practically risking her wayward neck.

"So what now?" Skippy asked.

"Let's zplit up, ja?" Dr. Scratchansniff suggested. "Yakko you go zat vay, Vakko you go zat, Zkippy go zis vay, Dot go zis vay, Zlappy go zat way, und I zhall go zis way!"

The therapist pointed in 6 directions and he, Slappy and Skippy promptly took off. The Warners briefly glanced at each other, exchanged shrugs, and started to walk away towards their designated paths. With images of the near-fatal incident flashing in their minds, and thoughts of what might have happened to Rem gave them the determination to bring her back home alive and safe. No matter what the cost.

XXXXXXX

Rem wandered aimlessly throughout the city, the cool air actually starting to make her shiver. The sun was nearing to set in the horizon as she came onto a grassy knoll. Although she didn't look it, her mind was going in 8 different directions and she wasn't thinking quite clearly. Rem kept moving forward, not caring or coherent or where she was going. She approached a fence with a warning prohibiting people to cross, but she ignored it and climbed over it. Then, her ears twitched to the sound of waves crashing, making Rem raise her head up a little. A head of her was a large tree. And a cliff. The grass ended just at the edge. Rem, staring hard at the beyond slowly approached the cliff. She peered over the edge and saw the Pacific Ocean below. White foamy waves crashed against the landmass of the Californian shore. Rem seemed to be hypnotized by the deep bluish black of the water. In her frantic mind, Rem found at last _a way out._ She threw a glance back and then looked down at the water again. Slowly, Rem slid off her backpack and katanna onto the tall grass below her while backing up a little. Her things toppled to the ground one by one under the tree. There was a moment of hesitation. Did she really want this? But images of the past month at Burbank gave her back the drive. Rem was planning to do this anyway. Once she finished high school.

_...Alice...I'm so sorry..._

Rem slowly approached the edge. With her arms outstretched, she dove headfirst into the ocean. The water was cold. Bitingly cold. The crashing waves from above kept tossing her as if she were a rag doll. Rem did nothing to try and reach the surface for air. Finally, she blacked out.

_So this is what death feels like...it feels...kind of...nice..._

xxxxxxx

Yakko walked around the whole beach area of the city. For the first time in his life, time itself was starting to become rather precious to him. He was losing sunlight fast, and he'd hate to think of what crazy stuff Rem might do when night came calling. He followed a road into a grassy knoll. He could hear the waves of the ocean just barely. The air was getting colder. Much colder.

_My kingdom for a knit sweater..._

Then something caught his eye. Lying under a tree and beyond a restrictive fence, was Rem's belongings. Making a confused expression, he climbed over the fence. Upon closer inspection, the stuff under the tree was indeed Rem's. But no Rem. Yakko scratched his head a little in confusion. His ears twitched to the sounds of the ocean waves again, making him curiously, but carefully peer over the cliff. Down below, were the remnants of air bubbles floating to the surface and washes away by the waves, in such a way, that it appeared to have looked like someone fell into the water. Yakko stared hard into the deep blue and black with his expression quickly turning from curiosity to fear again. He shot a glance back at Rem's belongings randomly strewn about the ground and then returned his attention to the sea. Not much was needed to put two and two together. Yakko's expression then turned to being appalled and somewhat angry.

_...oh, you __**DIDN'T**__..._

He backed up a little bit, and then holding his breath, he ran towards the cliff and dove over the edge. The water was slightly freezing but it could've been worse. Yakko, using his arms and feet, swam down and down quickly towards the dark abyss below. Then a figure appeared, floating around like dead weight. Sure enough, it was Rem. Barely 5 feet under and she was already unconscious. Narrowing his eyes, Yakko swam even faster towards her, even as the cold water was numbing at the limbs. When he got close enough, he quickly wrapped an arm around her waist and a mad break for the surface, as he was starting to run out of air himself. With a huge gasp, Yakko popped out of the water. He found himself near the beach and quickly swam to the shore line with Rem in tow. Almost nearly out of breath, he crawled onto the sandy and muddy ground, carefully carrying Rem's limp form underneath him. Gently placing her on the ground and breathing hard, Yakko quickly put an ear to her throat and chest. He picked up on a very faint pulse, but she wasn't breathing. Without a thought, Yakko immediately began performing CPR on her.

_Come on, Rem...breathe..._

Nothing seemed to happen at first, prompting Yakko to try harder and get extremely anxious and desperate.

_BREATHE, DARN YOU!_

A few seconds later, Rem's eyes burst open and she gagged up ocean water as it was forced up from her throat. She gasped and coughed, getting much needed air down into her lungs. Yakko backed up so Rem could have some air space. Rem felt a little weakened and exhausted. When she did finally regain her composure, Yakko had a few choice words for her.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" he yelled. "DO YOU REALLY THINK GOING DOWN _THAT_ ROAD IS GONNA SOLVE ALL YOUR PROBLEMS?"

"It's a start..." Rem shot back. "And why the hell are you even here? Didn't you boot me out of your damn Water Tower?"

That caught Yakko a little off guard.

"Yes, I did." he admitted. "But it's brought to our attention that you may not be _all there._ And after that _stunt_ you pulled, including _this one_, I'm inclined to believe and agree with Scratchansniff and Slappy when they said: YOU. NEED. HELP!"

"I don't need anyone's help, Warner." Rem hissed. "I can do well without it."

"Oh sure, running into oncoming traffic is a _brilliant_ idea."

"OH SHUT THE HELL UP! I'VE GONE THROUGH MY WHOLE LIFE WITH NOBODY GIVING A SHIT! _WHY SHOULD YOU BE ANY FUCKING DIFFERENT?_"

Yakko drew back in surprise when Rem had her outburst. In the whole time that he had known her, he'd never her _that_ upset before. But after blinking a few times, Yakko began to really see what Scratchansniff was talking about. Rem indeed had some problems. Big problems. A little too big to be ignored, even by a wacky, zany toon like himself. Rem _really_ needed help. And a lot of it.

"Because I _do_ give a heck." the elder Warner told her, folding his arms. "I give a very big heck."

There was a silence. Rem stared hard into the ground, with an infuriated and upset look on her face.

"Look." Yakko said in a softer tone. "I know we got off on the wrong foot here, but why don't we start over from scratch. We can keep this whole cliff diving thing just between ourselves."

There was another silence. Rem continued staring into the ground with a sour look on her face. She _really_ didn't want to go back to Burbank, but right not there wasn't much of choice. Plus, Yakko was willing to turn over a new leaf. So to speak.

"...Alright...I guess..." she murmured, with a frown.

Yakko grinned. He hopped to his feet and extended a hand to Rem, which she reluctantly took.

"And put on a smile, willya?" Yakko added.

"I. Don't. Smile. Warner." Rem ranted.

"Uh-huh. Keep tellin' yourself that."

"...Whatever."

* * *

**AN: Andrew Davis btw, is the director of the 1993 fim _The Fugitive _with Harrison Ford. **


	12. Slappy Knows Best

***Chapter 4: Slappy Knows Best***

Yakko and Rem finally caught up with the rest of the searching party by the time the sun went down. Immediately Wakko and Dot flew to Rem's side the moment they saw her.

"Are you okay?" Wakko cried. "We thought you were gonna be road kill!"

"I'm alright." Rem muttered, trying to avoid making a scene.

"You stupid...what gave you the bright idea of going out into open traffic?" Dot exclaimed, a little emotional and slightly punching Rem's arm.

"Dot. Relax. I'm still breathing." Rem replied, blocking the pink clad Warner's punches.

Slappy then saw that both Rem and Yakko were drenched in ocean water.

"What the heck happened to you two?" she asked. "Why are you soaking wet?"

Both Rem and Yakko exchanged a meaningful glance.

"Ehhhhhh, we decided to catch a few waves." Yakko replied with a grin.

XXXXXXX

That night, the whole group made a hasty trek back to Burbank. The Warner trio along with Rem, went in Dr. Scratchansniff's car. Yakko was seated in front with the studio therapist, while Wakko, Dot, and Rem were in the back seat. Both Wakko and Dot were konked out during the drive after all the excitement, but Rem was still wide awake. Yakko glanced at her from the rear-view mirror while she was looking at the starry night outside in a sort of hypnotic stare. The elder Warner had to wonder what was _really_ going on in that head of hers. Were the gears turning in a normal clock-like demeanor? Or were they meshing out of control?

_The sooner we get back to Burbank, the better..._

XXXXXXX

_He was running through a castle-like hall, panting from being out of breath. He didn't know why exactly he was running to begin with, he just had this drive, this urge, to get where he was going. Whatever it was. He came to a circular flight of stony stairs. A blooming and thorny rose bush, almost covered the walls, bearing deep green leaves and beautiful roses._

_What the heck was this? A Disney movie?_

_Finally he came to the top of the stairs into another hall. The white roses continued into the stony hall. Towards the end however, they turned blue and surrounded a large iron clad oak door. Pyramid shaped studs stuck out of the iron work as they formed X's. Yakko slide the latch the opposite direction and pulled the door open..._

xxxxxxx

Yakko's eyes snapped awake as he emitted a light gasp. His eyes shifted back and forth and he saw he was still in his bed. Groaning, he sat up and rubbed his eyes. That was one _weird_ dream! He really needed to stop eating pop tarts before bed. Looking around to make sure Rem was in her place, Yakko found her actually curled up in her bed. He noticed that she was a very quiet sleeper, in comparison to with himself and his siblings. He then noticed her flower hair clip was set on her bag when she had removed it for the night. The blue rose briefly took Yakko back to his strange dream. Facing the front, he slowly slid his hand across his face and cast it off as nothing.

5 minutes later, Rem awoke rather slowly. It was more like groaning into her pillow and refusing to get up out of pure laziness. Finally she pulled herself up and rubbed her eyes as they squinted in the sunlight peeking into the Water Tower.

_God damn bright out here..._

Rem got up from her bed, clad in a big shirt that Wakko had lent to her the night before and nearly tripped over the sheets. Rem was unfortunately a natural born klutz. Wakko and Dot were still asleep. For the most part, so if she was very quiet in getting herself breakfast, Rem could have some time to herself before the Warners decided to start the day.

Yakko came back into the Water Tower from getting the newspaper to find that Rem wasn't in bed. But before he could go into a fit about her wandering off again, his nose twitched to a scent coming from the Warner's kitchen.

_Wait a sec...is she __**cooking**__?_

Curious, Yakko peered into the kitchen and saw Rem frying bacon she found in the fridge in a pan over a oven burner. Raising an eyebrow, the elder Warner approached Rem-who by the way wasn't a morning person-as she stared at the pan with a dead-pan expression. And even though she never looked his way, she knew he was there.

"Morning..." she mumbled.

"An early worm, are we?" Yakko remarked.

"No. I'm just sick of having cereal every freaking morning. I want _real_ food dammit."

"Uh-huh, I can see we're quite _cheerful_ this morning."

Rem growled. She had the urge to tell him to fuck off, but held back. Yakko placed his fists on his hips, a bit frustrated that he wasn't getting any emotion out of her other than irritation. He then loomed over her as she flipped the sizzling bacon in the pan.

"Didn't know you could cook." Yakko remarked.

"I was self taught." Rem replied nonchalantly.

"Is that a fact?"

"Duh. How else was I gonna get nourishment with nobody to help me out?"

Yakko blinked, a little struck by the harshness in her voice. Then he remembered her telling him earlier that she was an orphan. He put another grin on his face.

"Well, I can help you out before you end up burning the Water Tower down." Yakko quipped.

"Oh shut up." Rem growled. "I happen to be very safety conscious around the kitchen."

"This is coming from someone who carries around a sword and runs into busy traffic."

Rem made an even more sour face.

"You're not going to let me forget that, are you?" she said in a low voice.

"Nooope." Yakko replied coyly. "But, ehhhhhh, if you ask nicely, I just might."

Rem was silent.

_Friggin' jerk..._

Then they both heard sounds of yawning. It was Wakko and Dot finally waking up and lured in by the scent of cooking bacon.

"Someone cooking breakfast?" Dot asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah." Rem replied. "How do you want your eggs?"

"I want waffles..." Wakko droned.

Rem silently growled.

_That's not what I ASKED..._

Yakko, sensing her anger, put an arm around her shoulders.

"Eh, waffles and bacon will do just fine." he quipped.

"Fine! Be that way!" Rem ranted in frustration.

_So much for having real food for breakfast..._

XXXXXXX

Later that morning, Rem appeared at Slappy's doorstep. The elder squirrel answered the door after Rem had knocked.

"I understand you wanted to see me." Rem said.

"Sure." Slappy replied. "Come right in and have a seat in the kitchen, kid."

Rem made a face as she stepped into the tree house.

_Jesus, it's like going into the Principal's office..._

She followed the aged toon into her kitchen. They both sat down at the table where Slappy offered her some Lemonade.

"So...what am I here for again?" Rem asked blankly.

"Well, first of all, you need to lighten up, kid." Slappy replied pointedly.

"I _am_ lightened up..."

"_Really_? Then boy do I have a lot of work to do on you."

Rem blinked confusingly.

"Okay, you've lost me." she said.

"Look kid, if you're gonna be a toon, you gotta at least behave like one." Slappy told her.

"Okay, look. For starters, I'm not into that sort of thing. I don't go bouncing off the freaking walls."

"Well you don't have to, kid. I mean, you don't see me bouncin' off the walls, do ya?"

"Well...no."

"Most toons don't have to bounce off the walls in order to make people laugh. I, for example, commonly use comedic violence for material."

Rem was dumbfounded.

"Excuse me, _comedic violence_?" she asked.

"Sure." Slappy replied. "Someone messes with me, I throw 'em an explosive."

The elder squirrel then pulled out a black cannonball-like bomb with the fuse lit for Rem to see.

"Okay, seriously, how is that _any different_ than what I'm doing?"

"Well, for one thing, we don't use lethal means." Slappy pointed out. "You on the other hand, from what I gather, like playin' around with knives."

Rem was silent again. She stared down at the cup of Lemonade in her hands.

"I only use it for self defense." Rem murmured. "I mean, I certainly don't intend on _killing_ anybody for God sakes."

"And that's another thing we gotta curb. That mouth of yours." Slappy said with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think I can really help that..."

"Sure ya can. If you don't, the censors will."

Rem let out a heaving sigh and made an exasperated face.

_The censors..or whatever, can kiss my ass._

"Can I ask you something?" Rem said. "What's the deal with the white gloves?"

"It's a 30's thing." Slappy replied, taking a sip out of her coffee mug. "Ahhhhh, that's some good walnut roast."

Rem looked a little disgusted.

_Okay, that's just gross..._

XXXXXXX

The Warners returned to the studio after making mayhem on some other historical figure. Like King Henry VIII. They were expecting to see Rem on the lot after seeing Slappy but she didn't seem to be there. Yakko started to get a little anxious about her absence.

_Oh great, now where the heck is that crazy kid?_

_(Now Playing: Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D Minor, BWV 1008: III. Courante by Bach. Performed by Yo-Yo Ma.)_

Then the Warner siblings' ears twitched to the sound of a stringed instrument being played somewhere on the lot.

"Who's playing a violin?" Wakko asked curiously.

"Actually, Wakko, I think that's a cello." Dot said.

They followed the sounds of harmonic melody into a small studio where the musical accompaniment to a movie was often recorded. Peering into the building, they saw Rem seated on a stool and playing-very passionately-on a cello with her eyes closed. She was playing one of the solo cello suites by Bach all from memory and at a remarkably fast pace. Rem slightly bit her lip in sheer concentration and randomly bobbed her head to the beat. The Warners watched silently with impressed and giddy grins stretching on their faces. Like them, Rem seemed to have musical talent.

_(End Music)_

As soon as she completed the piece, the trio gave applauses, making Rem snap her eyes open and tense up from unwanted attention.

"Impressive." Dot said.

"Bravo!" Wakko exclaimed.

"Looks like we have a little Mozart, sibs." Yakko complimented.

"That was Bach, genius." Rem muttered.

She silently got up from the stool and carefully placed the cello back in its case as Yakko, Wakko, Dot loomed over her.

"You never told us you could play." Wakko marveled.

"And so well." Dot added.

"You never asked." Rem pointed out, walking past them.

The trio followed her out of the building and towards the Water Tower.

"Anything else you'd like to share about yourself?" Yakko asked.

"...not really..." Rem murmured.

"Roughly translated to _we'll find out eventually_."

Rem growled at the eldest Warner's sarcastic joke, but she wasn't just ready, nor comfortable in opening up to them. She had been such a loner for the longest time that she always felt uncomfortable around other people.

"I'm...sort of fluent in two different languages." she finally said.

"Aaaaannnd?" the Warners playfully asked.

"Japanese and Latin."

The trio blinked for a moment. Then a large toothy grin appeared on Yakko's face.

"Oh _really_?" he exclaimed. "Hajimemashite. Doozo yoroshiku, Remu."

Rem made a really sour and irritated face.

"Saitei da omae, temee!" she ranted, moving past the Warners as they made a pause.

"Whad she say?" Dot asked.

"Eh, nothing important." Yakko told her.

They followed Rem into the Water Tower where she flopped onto the couch.

"And you obviously made an effort to learn all the _naughty words_, right?" Yakko continued.

"Well, it wasn't exactly the _highlight_ of my learn set." Rem replied.

"Where didja learn Latin?" Dot asked curiously.

"Church..." Rem muttered.

"Obviously." Yakko remarked.

"Only because it was one of the very few that still speaks it. Plus it was the oldest one in the freakin' Coachella Valley." Rem droned.

"That's interesting. I can't imagine anyone like you going to such a place."

"Because it closed its doors when I was still seven."

"Hey that reminds me, how are you, Rem?" Dot asked.

"Old enough." Rem muttered.

"We back to that again?" Yakko remarked again.

"Look, I _really_ don't feel like telling other people my age, okay?" Rem sighed.

"Well, why don't you at least narrow it down for us?"

"Heh, like _that_ will ever happen..."

Rem had made a deep frown, causing the Warner to place their fists on their hips in annoyance. Then they went into a meditative pose and seconds later, light bulbs appeared atop their heads. With sneaky grins, they started to unleash a surprise tickle attack on Rem. However, she didn't burst out into laughter like they were hoping.

"What...the hell...are we doing..?" Rem asked with her eyes shifting confusingly back and forth.

"Trying to tickle ya!" Dot said. "Whoa, dumber than advertized..."

Rem narrowed her eyes.

"Well, uh-ahem-I hate to burst your bubble, but uh, I'm not ticklish." she said.

The Warners' faces dropped like pianos off a roof in shock.

"WHAT?" Yakko ranted.

"_You're not ticklish?_" Wakko cried in disbelief.

"Nope." Rem replied casually. "Never had been either."

"But everyone's ticklish!" Dot protested. "Even Mr. Plotz!"

"Not me." Rem insisted. "My dad had tried doing the same thing. Didn't work then either."

Now the Warner trio was really annoyed. Rem seemed to be immune to their antics. But they weren't scared-like with a certain orange dinosaur and director-, it was more like frustration. What they were really trying to do was get Rem to smile.

"Slappy was right." Dot said. "You _are_ a tough crowd."

"Only because you can't make me smile." Rem pointed out.

"Well, we can promise you this, Rem." Yakko declared. "We won't rest until we see you crack one."

"Uh-huh. Good luck with that." Rem replied doubtfully.


	13. Sakko the Con

***Chapter 5: Sakko the Con***

2 week later, Rem's attitude got a little better. She slowly settled into life in Burbank, even thought it was a textbook example of insanity. Rem watched everything from anvils falling atop of mines to some unfortunate antagonizer getting blown up with dynamite or blown all the way into space, landing on some other planet. But that didn't drive Rem crazy. What really drove Rem crazy was the fact that the Warners never left her by herself unless she was with Slappy or Dr. Scratchansniff. And when she would try go off on her own, the Warners would either zip to her side, or Yakko would tell her to get where he-or any of his siblings-could see her. Rem felt like a 5-year-old being constantly babysitted. Since the incident where she ran into open traffic, the Warner trio watched her like a hawk. Dr. Scratchansniff was making a slow but steady progress in getting into her psyche. Even though Rem gave out very little information about herself, it said a lot to the studio therapist.

For now.

XXXXXXX

Yakko and Dot were busy in the Water Tower while Wakko took Rem out for lunch. The two siblings were drawing up a sort of 'rehab' plan for their charge. It was designed to bring Rem out of the dumps and get her into a more cheerful mood.

"You think she'd enjoy a Monty Python movie?" Dot asked.

"Ehhhhhh, I don't think so." Yakko said. "She wouldn't even sit through a Mel Brooks movie."

"Oh right. But she sat through a Don Knotts flick."

"Ehhhh, I think she only did that to make Wakko happy."

Then there was a knock at the door, catching both their attention.

"Oh boy!" Yakko cried. "Company!"

Both he and his younger sister zipped to the shield-shaped door and answered it. Waiting on the other side was a short toon, identical to the two Warners, except he had grey fur instead of black and sported a mustache. He was clad in a maroon colored 19th century-type jacket and carried around a blue paper party bag.

"HEEELLLLLLOOOOOO, COUSINS!" the male toon cried out excitedly while throwing the confetti around.

Yakko and Dot's faces fell a little.

"Oh hey there, Cousin Sakko." Yakko said.

"How are ya?" Dot curtly asked.

"Oh wonderful!" Sakko cheerfully replied. "Jus' wonderful! I've been travelin' all over da place!"

"And conning people no less." Yakko playfully whispered to Dot who in turn quietly giggled.

"Say, where's the crazy boy?" Sakko asked.

"You mean Wakko?" Dot replied. "He's out to lunch with Rem."

The grey furred Warner threw a confused look.

"Rem? Eh, who's Rem?" he asked curiously.

"Oh that's right, you haven't met her yet." Yakko said thoughtfully. "You see, a few months ago, we ran into this girl, Rem and we kinda had to hook up with her after an insane ex-director decided to steal our DNA and make another one of us."

As the elder Warner was talking, Dot held up posters of illustrations and flipping through them until the pictures no longer matched with the story. Sakko stood there with a bemused look on his face.

"Gee, cuz. That's some story." he marveled.

"Well why don't you meet her?" Dot said, putting an arm around Sakko's shoulders. "We'd love to introduce you."

"Well sure, why not?"

XXXXXXX

A few blocks away from the studio, and inside a diner. Rem was staring lowly and rather annoyedly across the table of the booth she sat in. Sitting on the other side was Wakko, leering intently at a quadruple decked cheese burger, while Rem just had a frozen coffee-flavored frappe. Then without warning, the middle Warner scarfed down the whole burger in one bite. Rem tilted her head a little to avoid getting hit with ketchup, mustard, or meat juices.

"You know, you're a textbook example of a bottomless pit." she lowly remarked.

Wakko simply sucked on his fingers one by one.

"Deeelicious!" he quipped.

He then proceeded to devour the forks, spoons, knives and pretty much everything else on the table save for Rem drink. Rem merely raised an eyebrow at this.

"Yup. A bottomless pit." she said.

"Don'tcha wanna eat anything, Rem?" Wakko asked.

"No, I'm not hungry, thanks."

Then the waiter came to their table with a black leather pad.

"Your check, sir." he said politely.

Wakko took it and looked through it. Then he stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a semi-giant piggy bank and dropped it onto the unsuspecting waiter.

"Here you go!" Wakko said.

The waiter stuck his head out from underneath the piggy bank with stars encircling it and with a few teeth missing.

"Thuh...thenk you, suh!" he stammered before his head dropped from unconsciousness.

With that, Wakko hopped off his seat and posed like a gentleman-despite the fact that his tongue was hanging out-while holding his hand out for Rem to take.

"Shall we go?" he asked in gallant but goofy tone.

Rem took one last slurp of her frappe from the straw and got off the booth, walking past Wakko.

"Sure, whatever." she said in monotone voice to which the red capped Warner shrugged.

They went out of the diner, watching random people pass by like Rita and Runt, the Goodfeathers, and Pinky and the Brain.

"So...where are we going next?" Rem asked.

Wakko then went into a meditative pose. A few seconds later, he threw his hand into the air, pointing up and bearing a determined look on his face, but quickly went back to his meditative posture. He did this two or three times as Rem was getting increasingly impatient.

_Crap...I'm gonna be an elder before he finally makes up his freaking mind._

"Hey guys!"

Both Wakko and Rem turned around to see Yakko, Dot, and Sakko coming down the sidewalk towards them. Rem threw a confused look when she saw the grey furred Warner.

"Who's that?" she asked.

"That's Sakko!" Wakko said. "Sakko Warner! He's our cousin."

"Oh. Interesting."

When Sakko saw Rem as she crossed her arms, he was immediately smitten. A pinkish red aura surrounded her in his vision and little hearts began floating up from his head.

"And who this lovely lady?" he swooned.

Suddenly, Rem's hand shot out and grabbed Sakko by the neck in a threatening stance.

"Let's get something straight here, punk." she kissed. "If you _ever_ call me that again, you and I are both going to have serious problems."

Sakko blinked in surprise a few times but smiled again.

"Awww, we playin' hard to get, darlin'?" he quipped to which Rem became more irritated.

"Rem, this is our cousin, Sakko." Yakko said calmly.

Rem looked at Sakko as his grin became wider.

"I'm Sakko." he said giddily.

"Yeah, I heard." Rem snapped.

"Remember to play nicely, sweetie." Yakko sang teasingly in a low voice.

"Don't make me want to kick your ass too, bud."

"Oh, I would _love_ to see you try."

Rem let out a frustrated sigh and lowered Sakko down. Yakko and his younger brother came together as the elder Warner put an arm around Wakko.

"How was she today?" Yakko asked in an anxious tone.

"Not bad." Wakko replied.

Rem and Dot meanwhile were conversing with Sakko.

"So you're new around here, are ya?" Sakko asked.

"Yeah..." Rem said flatly.

_Must I constantly have to answer this friggin' question?_

"She's from Palm Springs, Sakko." Dot added.

"Palm Springs? Oooh, I jus' love Palm Springs!" Sakko replied light heartedly. "Eh, have you ever been on the Aerial Tramway, Miss Rem?"

"Only once." Rem said.

"You know what? We should all go there sometime!"

The maroon-suited Warner started tossing around the confetti from his bag.

"This guy a part person or something?" Rem whispered to Dot.

"No, it's just what he does." the pink clad Warner whispered back.

While Sakko was still tossing confetti, Yakko walked over to him.

"You know Sakko, that actually sounds like a lovely idea." the elder Warner mused sarcastically. "Eh, provided that you don't ditch us."

"ME? When have I ever ditched you guys?" Sakko cried in disbelief.

"Well, let's see," Dot mused. "there was the time you left us in the Leaning Tower of Pisa...oh and let's not forget the _Andrea Doria_."

"Uh, excuse me!" Rem called out. "This whole going to the Tram gig...it's just a joke...right? We're not really going there...RIGHT?"

"Why not?" Yakko asked. "You've been givin' us an ear-ache about going back to Palm Springs."

"Yeah, why all the sudden you don't wanna go?" Dot asked.

"Well...see...I've got a thing about...heights." Rem murmured.

The Warners stared at her for a second before wide grins appeared on their faces.

"Oh _I_ get it." Yakko sneered playfully.

"Get _what_?" Rem snapped in annoyance.

"You're afraid of heights!" Wakko said.

"Uh, bullcrap. I don't _fear_ anything." Rem replied. "I just don't _like_ heights."

"Uh-huh, _sure_." Yakko mused.

"Oh go straight to hell, Warner!" Rem growled.

Sakko quickly got in between them.

"Now hold on here folks." he said. "If Rem doesn't want to go, she don't have to. I mean, I understand if she doesn't like bein' up that high."

"Thanks, you're _such_ a gentlemen." Rem said sarcastically.

Sakko grinned and took her hand.

"Heh, heh, thank you for the compliment, darlin." he swooned.

"It wasn't really intended as one." Rem said under her breath, snatching her hand back from the grey furred Warner. "But whatever."

"Well, I'm sure there's something we can do that'll meet your liking." Sakko replied, completely ignorant of the fact that Rem was totally turned off to him.

"Yeah, you do that, I'm going back to the Tower. Later."

Rem began to walk away but Yakko, Wakko, and Dot stretched forward and grabbed her before she could.

"Oh no you don't." Dot said sternly. "You're going nowhere without us, young lady."

"Seriously?" Rem ranted in a low voice.

"I've got it!" Sakko suddenly shouted out.

XXXXXXX

In using his cartoon antics, Sakko transported himself, his cousins and Rem to the Yuma Territorial Prison, in Arizona.

"What the hell is this?" Rem cried.

"I may not be so _eloquent_ as our friend here, Sakko," Yakko added. "but, ehhhhh, I'm going to have to agree with her assessment."

"Why, this is a part of good ol' American history!" Sakko protested, trying to sound impressive.

"A dingy 136-year-old prison?" Dot asked pointedly with her fists to her hip and with Wakko confusingly scratching his head.

"Actually," Rem spoke out, tilting her head. "I'd kinda like to check out that sniper tower over there."

"You mean the _guard_ tower?" Yakko remarked with a slightly stern voice and a raised eyebrow.

"Great!" Sakko cried in delight, taking Rem's hand. "Allow me to take ya there, darlin'!"

With that, he took off yanking Rem along, and leaving his cousins behind in the wake of his dust and causing them to cough out.

"Well this is just _dandy_." Yakko said sarcastically.

"You know sibs, I think Sakko's gotta a crush on Rem." Wakko pointed out.

"Oh, you _think_?"

"Too bad he doesn't notice that she doesn't reciprocate." Dot added matter-of-factly.

XXXXXXX

Sakko scooted right up to the guard tower dragging Rem behind. Rem all the while was trying to pry his hand off of her own.

"Hey, Rip Taylor wanna-be! You can let go of my hand now!" she said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, darlin'." Sakko replied, finally letting go of Rem's hand.

"And one more thing, DON'T call me, _darling_. EVER."

"Your wish is my command."

"Whatever."

Rem walked past the grey furred and perpetually grinning Warner to peer in one of the binocular stands. Hearts still came floating out of Sakko's head as he let out a deep sigh. Then, Sakko turned and saw a guard coming their way causing him to panic.

_Uh-oh..._

"Uh, Rem." Sakko whispered, poking Rem's shoulder. "Say, Rem."

"You know, Sakko, there's a well-known phrase that go along the lines of, _Silence is golden, and duck tape is silver_." Rem replied coldly. "I believe you've heard of it."

As the guard got closer, the fear of getting caught got the better of Sakko and he made a run for it. Leaving an unsuspecting Rem behind. She was too busy looking through the binocular stand to notice anything going on. That's why she jumped when she suddenly heard the guard's booming voice.

"Just what do ya think yer doin' here little missy?"

Rem swung around, startled and with her katanna handy. When she saw it was a guard, she immediately withdrew it.

"Jesus Christ, dude..." Rem rasped.

"What are you doin'? You can't be without an admission ticket." the guard growled.

Rem raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, seriously, I'm approximately 3 and a half feet tall." she said. "How much trouble could I possibly be to you?"

The guard ignored her and grabbed her by the collar of her vest, hoisting her up in the air. Rem of course did not like this one bit.

"Dude! Put me the hell down!" she shouted.

"Oh no you don't." the guard replied sternly. "You're coming with me to security, young lady."

"Eh, excuse me."

The guard turned to his left and saw the Warner trio standing before him.

"That would be our friend there, my good man." Yakko said.

"Yeah, would you be so kind as to let her go?" Dot added in a sweet sounding voice. "It's rude holding a lady like that."

"What the heck are kids doin' here? the guard demanded.

Yakko leapt into his arms, causing him to drop Rem.

"Oh you know, we're tourists visiting places and just having the time of our lives." Yakko said cheerfully. Then he put a hand over his cheek. "Although we would've gone to _Six Flags_."

The guard let out an exasperated growl and dropped Yakko to the ground.

"You lousy kids, beat it!" he ordered.

"Why?" the Warners asked in unison.

"Because you need an admission ticket to get in and you don't have one!"

"Why?"

"Because that's the rules of this facility!"

"Why?"

The guard was starting to get annoyed.

"Because, this here facility is government property!"

"Why?"

"ARRRGHHH! YOU BRATS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!"

"Why?"

Suddenly, Rem grabbed each of the Warners' ears and pulled them towards her.

"Okay that's enough with the rhetorical questions." she hissed. "_I'm_ getting annoyed."

"THAT DOES IT!" the guard shouted. "YOU BRATS ARE GONNA-"

Before he could finish, Wakko whacked him with a large mallet. Then the Warners sped off with the middle Warner taking ahold of Rem's wrist and taking her along with them.

"Oh that was just brilliant guys." Rem said sarcastically. "Now the dude's going to call more guys."

"Don't ever doubt the way we work, Rem." Yakko told her.

"Whatever."

"I'm curious, why didn't you use your _toy_ on our friend there?"

Rem made a face.

"Dude, he's a _security guard_." she exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how much freaking trouble I'd get into if I off someone like him? I'm not _that_ bold."

The Warners exchanged glances and then shared approving grins at Rem's growing sense of morality. Suddenly the guard from the tower had found where they had run off to and was steaming with rage.

"THERE YOU ARE!" he shouted. "YOU LOUSY KIDS GET OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"

"Come on, sibs. Let's get back to Burbank." Yakko told his charges.

They began to zip away but then made a halt after realization of something missing.

"Hey wait a minute, where did Sakko go?" Wakko asked Rem.

"Uhhh..." Rem replied, blinking a little.

"Lemme guess, he left you behind during a situation such as this." Yakko deduced pointedly.

"Hell, I didn't even notice that he left." Rem mused. "Is that a bad habit he's got or something?"

"A _really_ bad habit." Dot muttered with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Not that I _really_ care, but don't you think we outta wait up for him, first?"

"Why bother? He's probably miles away from here already."

Rem shrugged in response.

_Oh well, I guess..._

* * *

**AN: Okay let's talk about Sakko Warner here. First of all, he's NOT I repeat, NOT a fan character. He is actually character that was spawned out of the comic book series based on the show. You can visit the DeviantART posting of this chapter and follow a link from Google Images and see a picture of him. **

**Second, he(and the storyline he appears in) was not well recieved when the comic issue was released. Hell _I_ thought it was kinda rediculous. In fact most fans don't even consider him cannon. But I wanted to sort of 'ressurect' the character and make him a bit more interesting and a little bit of an jackass too lol ;)**

**Now there _is_ such a place as the Yuma Territorial Prison I actually went there once. But it's been so long since I've been there so I don't know if you have to have a ticket to get in, cause I believe they turned it into a muesum and such.**


	14. Interlude 2

**AN: Hello everyone. Sorry I had been away for quite a while. I wanted to finish my PPG fic before continuing. So now that that's done, we may proceed! :) This _is _a little short compared to last chapter, but it's just a nice 'in-between' chapter before we launch into next Act. With that said I hope you enjoy :D Peace Out!**

* * *

***Interlude 2***

One afternoon at ACME Labs, Brain was making plans and preparing for another night of a bid to take over the world, while Pinky was busy watching a television set. The not-so bright mouse kept laughing at every little joke that was performed on the program he watched. Brain shook his head at him and kept at his plans, ignoring his somewhat deranged companion as best he could. Then the front door of the Lab opened, catching both the mice's attention. Standing in the doorway was Rem.

"Hiya, Rem!" Pinky called out excitedly.

"'Sup?" Rem murmured.

"Well, this is an unexpected surprise?" Brain said. "Decide to join my conquest after all?"

"No, not really."

"They why are you here?"

"For two reasons: One, I'm bored as hell, and I wanted to get away from my uh.._house mates_ for a bit. Two, I'm curious how the heck a pair of little mice are going to conquer the entire earth."

Pride began to beam and swell inside of Brain.

"Well, I'd be happy to show you." he said pompously. "However I must ask you not to disclose this information to anyone else."

"Sure, whatever." Rem replied with a shrug.

Pinky, who quickly lost interest in the television program he was watching, joined them at a big table where a blue print was laid out.

"But Rem," the taller mouse began. "if you wanna see how Brain tries to take over the world, then how come you still don't want to help us? Poit."

"Well, let's just say I'm more interested in the temporal plane right now." Rem replied vaguely.

"The temporal plane?" Brain asked, a bit confused as to why on earth a girl her age would want to be interested in such a thing like that.

"Sure." Rem replied again.

Pinky and Brain exchanged glances. Then Brain promptly went back to his task at hand.

"Yes well, if we infiltrate NASA's headquarters here," the large-craniumed mouse mused while drawing dotted lines on the blue print. "we'll have a greater chance of getting into the control center."

"You guys are taking NASA?" Rem inquired, raising an eyebrow. "That's kinda interesting..."

"We're going to reprogram their satellites so they will feed a message back down to Earth."

"Huh. You're really putting a lot of thought into this aren't you?"

"Yes. For tonight we shall succeed in taking over the world!"

Brain shook his fists with grim determination, Rem raised her eyebrow again. She couldn't honestly imagine these two rodents to get far with their plan. But since Brain was so sure of himself, she wished him all the luck in the world.

"By the way," Brain spoke out. "how was it that you came here in the first place?"

Rem frowned a little. _ This_ story again.

"You familiar with the good Dr. Frankeninni?" she asked darkly.

"Familiar, yes." Brain replied.

"You mean that movie director that went all crazy? Ha Ha! NARF!" Pinky exclaimed.

"Yeah him." Rem murmured. "Long story short, I used to live in Palm Springs and now I guess I live here. And I'm also a cartoon character."

"Hmmm. Interesting." Brain said, thoughtfully scratching his chin. "How was he able to accomplish that?"

"He's got some stupid machine or something, I don't know..."

Brain continued to scratch his chin in deep thought.

"I never expected him to expand his horizons." he said.

"You think he's an amateur or something?" Rem inquired.

"In part. He also makes a sloppy scientist."

_That explains the lousy security measures._

XXXXXXX

After spending an hour at ACME Labs, Rem finally moved on to the park where the Goodfeathers were again perched on their sacred statue of Martin Scorsese. They quickly noticed her and flew to the bench that she sat in.

"Hey Rem." Bobby greeted. "Nice to see ya!"

"'Sup?" Rem sighed lightly. Then when the sunlight peaked out from the tree branches above her, she raised her arm over her eyes. "Ugh. It's god-damn bright out here..."

Squit and Pesto exchanged confused glances with Squit shrugging while Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"Not too fond of the sun are ya?" the turquoise pigeon said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Eh, see? I toldja she was goth." Squit said.

"I'm NOT goth." Rem interjected. "I just hate the sunlight."

"Isn't what being Goth is?" Pesto asked.

"No. Goths are those people who bleach their skin, smoke six packs a day, and dress like there's a funeral every day."

"Is that so?" Bobby replied.

Then out of nowhere, a large white pigeon came flying over onto the statue.

"The Godpigeon!" Bobby rasped.

The larger bird extended his foot to the other three who promptly kissed it. Rem gave a confused expression.

"Wait a sec, you guys supposed to be like a bird mob or something?" she asked pointedly.

"Ehhh, watjie whoozit shabala?" the Godpigeon muttered in a hard to understand language.

"The Godpigeon Sulley, would like to know who you are." Bobby translated.

"Uhhh, I'm Rem." the girl replied, not quite knowing what to make of the situation.

"Eh za betchie zukini." Godpigeon Sulley said, scratching underneath his beak.

"He says that 'Rem' is a rather strange name." Bobby translated again.

"Yeah, well..." Rem replied in a low voice while rolling her eyes.

"Eh alla bote uffa talla."

And after that, the Godpigeon turned around and flew away.

"He said he hopes to see more of you." Pesto said, translating this time.

"...sure, whatever." Rem studdered. "I have a question. You guys...you know...do drive bys?"

The three pigeon exchanged confused glances.

"Drive bys? As in Drive By Restaurants?" Bobby asked in reply.

"Nevermind." Rem said, dropping the subject. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

She got up from the bench and left. Pesto made a face.

"What makes her think that we work at a lousy restaurant?!" he ranted.

"Maybe she thinks we're Pizza chefs or something." Squit improvised.

"Whaddya mean by that?!" Pesto demanded, angrily glaring at Squit.

"I just said that maybe Rem thought we're pizza chefs."

"You think that _I'm_ a pizza chef?! What am I, old man Lombardi here to sing_ O Solo Mio_ to you?! IS THAT WHAT YER SAYIN?!"

"No! I'm not sayin' that!"

"YOU THINK I'M A PIZZA CHEF?!"

"Well...Rem might think so..."

Pesto wasn't satisfied with Squit's last answer. He got all puffed into a fury until he finally snapped.

"THAT'S IT!" the purple pigeon screamed. "PIZZA CHEF?! I'LL GIVE YOU A PIZZA CHEF!"

Bobby started to laugh hysterically as usual while the rage-crazed pigeon beat the unfortunate Squit mercilessly.

XXXXXXX

The next day in the Water Tower, Rem peered into the fridge and saw that it was nearly empty. It was the same story with the pantry. There was even a spider web inside.

"Hey folks." she called out. "We're kinda low on food supplies here."

The Warners appeared at their side with Yakko thoughtfully scratching his chin.

"Hmmm, so we are." the elder Warner mused. "This calls for a trip to our local super market. Wakko?"

The red-capped Warner pulled at the side like a page from a book and just like that, they were at the grocery store.

"And here we are!" Yakko declared with his right arm extended.

Rem blinked for a few minutes before making on irritated face.

"You know, I really hate it when you guys do that." she muttered.

"Why? You prefer another means of transportation?" Yakko asked.

"Yes, preferably."

The four of them walked into the store. It was a bit crowded much to Rem's dismay.

"All right sibs." Yakko declared, rubbing his hands together. "Wakko, you hit the dairy aisle and Dot, you hit the cereal aisle."

Both Wakko and Dot then zipped to their designated areas at the speed of lightning. Yakko stretched backwards and grabbed a cart.

"So...what specific aisle do you want me to go to?" Rem asked.

"_You_ are stayin' where I can see ya." Yakko said in a cheerful yet scolding tone.

Rem threw him a dirty look.

"Really, Warner?" she ranted.

"Really, Rem." Yakko replied smoothly.

"Are we still on the stupid baby-sitting bullcrap?"

"You should be used to it by now."

_I'm going to kill myself..._

She followed the elder Warner into the bread aisle with a moping expression. Meanwhile, Wakko and Dot zoomed around the store like little rockets, sweeping products off their shelves as they gathered groceries for the Water Tower. Once, Wakko accosted a lady leaning over to get milk.

"HEEELLLOOOO, NURSE!" he exclaimed, fawning over the lady.

Dot, who had been following him around, rolled her eyes in annoyance and grabbed him by his turtleneck collar, dragging him backwards.

"That'll be enough of that." she scolded.

xxxxxxx

Rem managed to get away from Yakko for a few minutes alone. She found the aisle where the coffee was stocked.

"Hello, glorious java." she lowly sang to herself.

Yakko had quickly found her when she went off on her own. He had an expression of slight dismay when he saw her eyeballing the coffee.

"Didn't I tell ya that stuff will stunt your growth?" he pointed out.

"And didn't I tell _you_ that I already had a growth stunt?" Rem replied simply.

"Well you did but, ehhhhhhh, you might wanna explain that one to me again."

"I had a growth spurt when I was 10, and then it the 'abort button'. Besides, I _need_ my 'morning juice'."

Yakko had raised an eyebrow while listening to her reasons. The he realized that she just unknowingly tipped him off about her age. Something that she absolutely refused to reveal.

"Well," he said with a grin. "at least now I know you're not 10 years old."

Rem, realizing her error, made a highly irritated face.

"Okay seriously, get the hell away from me before I smack you!" she hissed.

"Uh-huh, I bet you will." Yakko snickered as he walked past her.

Wakko and Dot were still gathering groceries when they came across a sales man behind a table with a bottle of a brand new juice and a few little plastic cups filled with the juice.

"Free sample?" the sales man asked politely.

"Oh, don't mind if we do!" Wakko replied gallantly. Both he and Dot each took a cup and drank from them. But, no sooner than they did, they immediately grimaced and spit the juice right out.

"Yuck! What _is_ that?!" Wakko asked as Dot stretched out her tongue and swept it with a soapy brush.

"Well...er...um..." the sales man stammered, a bit stunned by their reaction.

"You guys testing a new product?"

Yakko and Rem had spotted Wakko and Dot and were curious as to what all the commotion was about.

"Um..free sample, sir?" the sales man nervously asked the elder Warner.

Yakko, scratching his chin, took one of the little cups and tasted the new juice. Like his younger siblings, he too made a grimacing face but swallowed it down.

"Ehhhhh, I think we'll pass." Yakko said.

"What did you say this was again?" Rem asked she inhaled the juice's scent.

"Er, um...Pomegranate juice." the salesman replied.

As soon as he said that, Rem promptly took the last cup on the table and drank all the juice down without even wincing. The Warners all stared at her with Yakko and Dot making disgusted faces and Wakko looking as if he were just about ready to throw up.

"Oh that's disgusting." Dot groaned.

"I think you might have some competition in the gross department, Wakko." Yakko said pointedly.

"Is there any more?" Rem asked.

"Are you kidding me?!" Dot cried in disbelief. "Is she for real?"

"Why, yes we do!" the sales man replied with a grin emerging on his face.

While he turned around to fetch for more bottles, the Warner trio approached Rem.

"You're not seriously thinking about taking that stuff home with us, are ya?" Yakko asked with a frown.

"Damn right I am." Rem replied. "Pom is the best freaking thing on earth.

* * *

**AN: Alright, last chapter I forgot to post the Song List xP So here it is in its entirety.**

**Song List**

**-Angels (Within Temptation)  
-Disappear (Evanesance)  
-Possibility (Lykke Li)  
-Shooting the Moon (OK Go)  
-Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D Minor BWV 1001: 111 Courante (Bach)  
-Leave Out all the Rest (Linkin Park)  
-Sinner (Drowning Pool)  
-Deadbolt (Thrice)  
-Still I'm Sad (The Yardbirds)  
-Paranoid (Black Sabbath)**


	15. Act III Prelude

**AN: Okay, since this the direction of this story is about to get grim, I wasn't sure if I should leave this part in the main story or make a splinter title with an M rating. I finally decided to say, f-k it, and keep the whole thing in one title. I'm just going to tone down on the content than what I originally had intended so it can pretty much stay at T rating. So without further adeiu, please enjoy Act III. Peace out!**

* * *

***Act III***

_They came brandishing ray guns. They would definitely need them. The drones aimed their weapons towards a hill which had a withered tree at its peak. She was standing there, holding a ink-stained katanna. She darted toward them like a guided missile. They tried to fire their weapons, but it was just no use. They might as well be shooting at mere blanks as she glided past the lasers like silk._

_Without hesitation, she slashed at them with her blade. Slaying each of them one by one. Ink and parts went flying everywhere. They tried to bring her down, but ended up being annihilated. Finally, when there was only one left, he tried to flee. But she wasn't going to let him. She went straight after him and tore him apart._

_Three others came to the area to back up their team. They all stared in mute terror of the grisly scene. One of them swore he saw a dragon-like aura surrounding her. Another thought he heard a purring of a Beast._


	16. Progress

***Chapter 1: Progress***

Rem was curled up by the stained glass window of Weed Memblow with her nose buried in her Dante book. Dot was on her bed, also reading from a romance novel although she was having a hard time trying to. Yakko and Wakko were all over the place, playing their boyish games from medieval knights to cowboys and Indians. Finally after a short while, Dot almost threw a fit.

"ARRGHHHH!" Dot cried out in fury. "I CAN'T CONCENTRATE!"

After yelling at the top of her lungs, she noticed Rem still by the window and quiet as a mouse.

"Hey, Rem." Dot called out. "How can you read with all this noise?"

"I tune out everything." Rem replied simply.

Their attention as caught by the two Warner boys who started imitating the Rocky movies. And still quite loudly.

"They always like this?" Rem asked.

"You have no idea." Dot muttered.

They continued to watch the two boys fool around. Finally, Dot decided she had enough.

"Come on, Rem. Let's go someplace quieter." she said, pulling Rem's arm up.

"Do we have to?" Rem replied with a frown. "I mean, I'm kinda in the middle of this..."

"Yes, we do."

xxxxxxxx

The girls went to an area in the park. It had the silent atmosphere that Dot was looking for. She sat against a tree and resumed reading her romance novel. Pretty soon however, all the little sounds and noises of nature were starting to become the same kind of bother back at the Water Tower and again she was deterred from reading. Letting out another growl of frustration she got up, ready to leave to a different area to find some peace and quiet. When she turned to Rem, she saw her lying very still on the grass and staring deeply into the sky above. Watching the clouds slowly move past them.

"Rem, what the heck are you doin'?" Dot inquired.

"Watching the clouds move on." Rem replied softly.

Dot gave a confused expression on her face as Rem heaved out one huge sigh.

"Is this supposed to be some form of yoga?" the youngest Warner asked again.

"Not really. I just find it _really_ relaxing." Rem sighed.

Dot blinked a few times. She never saw Rem this calm before. It was kind of a shocker really.

"And how often do you do this, cloud watching, Rem?" Dot continued.

"Whenever." Rem said. "Or when I need to clear my head or something."

"That's interesting, when I need to clear _my_ head, I scream into a pillow."

"Typical, yet not uncommon."

"But it's mostly when people call me 'Dottie'."

Rem partly opened her closed eyes.

"You don't like 'Dottie' I assume." she deduced.

"Heck no. I _hate_ that name!" Dot fumed.

Rem went into thought.

_Hence, "Call me Dottie and you die"._

"What about you, Rem?" Dot spoke out.

"What about me?" Rem asked back.

"Do you have a name that people call you sometimes and you absolutely hate?"

Rem became silent again.

"...yes and no." she hesitantly replied. "I was...kinda named after my grandmother. I'd rather not say tho."

"Hmmm, _that_ bad huh?"

Rem gave a slow nod. Actually it wasn't all bad to her. She just didn't want to say it. It was too long and complicated anyway.

XXXXXXX

The Warner trio and Rem were at another session of therapy with Dr. Scratchansniff. He noted that there was a change in the atmosphere. It was a bit more relaxed than it as before. Of course there was still a little of hostility-which obviously came from Rem-but it didn't change the fact that Rem as just starting to go with the flow. That would be a dreadful thought actually for the therapist if Rem indeed became zany. That would mean dealing with not three but _four_ 'Warners'.

"Okay my little...eh, friendz." Dr. Scratchansniff nervously began. "How are you all feeling today?"

"How we feel every day, Otto." Yakko replied with a grin. "With our hands and feet!"

The poor doctor let out a groan while Wakko and Dot giggled.

"Rem, how 'bout you?" Scranchansniff asked, turning to the teen.

"Well, this morning I felt like crap because I slept on my neck the wrong way..." Rem responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

The Warner trio all looked at her funny and with confused expressions.

"Okay, explain _that one_ to us." Yakko said with a raised eyebrow, and placing his fists at his hips.

"There's nothing to explain, Warner." Rem shot back. "I slept on my neck the wrong way, and now it and my shoulders hurt like hell."

"Why didn't you say anything this morning?" Dot ranted.

"Because I didn't think it was important." Rem replied with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Dr. Scratchansniff was just buried in his note pad, speedily jotting down notes as Rem and the other three were yammering back and forth.

"Eh, Rem?" the P-sychiatrist called out. "May I interrupt for a few zeconds? Do you feel less angry than you vere before?"

"...just a little bit." Rem muttered after a short pause.

"Whaddya mean, a _little bit_?!" Dot protested. "Yesterday you were completely zoned out sky watching."

"_Sky watching_?" Yakko and Wakko asked in unison.

"Vhat eez thees 'sky watching', Rem?" Dr. Scratchansniff asked.

"It's nothing!" Rem cried, now mentally cursing Dot for bringing it up.

"It's something she does to mellow out." Dot replied with her arms folded and her legs crossed.

"Rem mellowing out?" Yakko asked jokingly. "There's a shocker."

"Oh shut the hell up, Warner." Rem snapped.

"Now, now, children." the studio therapist said sternly. "Let's not geet out of hand, ja?"

Rem silently fumed while the Warner's retained their normal yet strange stances on the therapy couch.

_It's only getting out of hand because freaking WARNER insists on pissing me off!_

xxxxxx

When their session was over, the four toons walked out of the Therapy Building. The Warners walked in a goofy manner while Rem just walked in a normal and straight demeanor. Although she was being quite slow, the trio went purposely at her speed, so that she wouldn't fall behind.

"So Rem." Yakko spoke up. "Watching the sky mellows you out?"

"Dude seriously, get off my back." Rem growled.

"Oh, but we're just curious to see what you're like, all calm and collected." Dot purred, wrapping her arm around Rem's.

"You've already seen me. Explain it to your freaking brothers." Rem ranted.

"But it's more interesting hearing it from you." Wakko pointed out.

"Whatever."

_I feel like punching something right now._

"Is somebody grumpy again?" Yakko leered playfully.

"Go straight to hell, Warner." Rem growled.

Suddenly, the trio froze to the sound of a whistle being blown. They turned their heads and saw Ralph coming at them with a net in hand.

"YIPE!"

Rem made a frown as the others began to sped away.

"Awww. Not this bullcrap again." she muttered.

The Warners promptly zipped back to her with disapproving expressions. Yakko picked Rem up by the collar of her orchid vest and stuck another sticker over her mouth that read 'CENSORED' across it.

"And that fills the quota for the day." Yakko said while placing a fist on his hip. Then he gave his hand a huge smooch. "Mwah! Goodnight everybody!"

Rem glared at him before they all took off again.

XXXXXXX

The Warners trotted through the rural areas of Burbank. Rem was faltering behind because she was more focused on trying to get the tape off her face. The Warner trio then came to a screeching halt.

"It's that time again." Yakko announced.

"To make bubbles from our spit?" Dot asked.

"To burp out Beethoven's 5th?" Wakko asked.

"No." Yakko replied. "It's time to learn the moral of today's story. And to find out what it is, we turn to the Wheel of Morality."

A game show-like wheel appeared at the elder Warner's side. Rem, who finally got the tape off her face, stared at the wheel.

"You have got to be kidding me." she said in total disbelief. "That thing looks like the freaking Wheel of Fort-"

Another 'CENSORED' tape was quickly slapped on her face before she could finish.

"Soooo." Yakko continued with a wide grin. "Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn. Tell us the lesson that we should learn."

He spun the wheel around and it slowly came to a stop, landing on the number 2. Then a paper came printing out from the left. Yakko ripped it from the printer and read from it.

"Always lick the cream off Oreos before dipping them in milk." he announced.

"Of course!" Wakko exclaimed. "It all makes perfect sense now!"

Rem pried the tape off her face again.

"How does that make any sense?!" she ranted.

"It just does, Rem." Yakko told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "It just does."

Then Rem had another thought.

"I'm curious, have you guys ever hit the 'Bankrupt' dial?" she asked.

The Warners looked as if they were just asked a trick question.

"Huh?" they said in unison

Ralph's whistle was heard again and prompted the Warners to flee once more. Rem simply stood behind a tree and watched the fat studio security guard angrily shake his fist at the trio before going after them. As soon as he was gone, Rem stepped onto the path and continued towards the opposite direction. Soon, she came across Slappy's tree house, making her stop in her tracks.

_Oh crap..._

The problem was that Slappy knew that the Warner trio was supposed to be watching Rem to make sure that she didn't get into any trouble. Rem tried going around to avoid being seen. No such luck. The front door burst open the minute she took a step.

"Naih! I saw that!" Slappy called out, pointing.

"Shit..." Rem muttered with a sour face.

"Mind tellin' me why you're by yourself?"

"I ditched the Warners. Sue me."

"Don't get smart with me, missy."

Rem let out a groan while pinching the bridge of her bright purple nose.

"Will you give me a break, please?" she whined. "I've already had a stressful morning."

The elder squirrel hopped over to her and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Eh, nope. But since you asked nicely, I think I'll have you over for some good ol' milk n cookies until the Warners get back." Slappy quipped.

Rem surprised a growl. Basically the squirrel was going to keep her until the trio came to collect her. Rem followed Slappy unwillingly into her tree house. Skippy, who was watching TV turned around to greet her.

"Hi, Rem!" he called out.

"Uh..hey." Rem murmured.

"How are ya?"

"Dandy."

Slappy made a frown when she heard the tone in Rem's voice.

"Hey kid, there's no need for the sarcasm." she said sternly.

Rem made a pause.

"Look, I don't mean to be cross or anything, I'm just _really_ irritated right now." she groaned.

"You remind me of a middle-aged Mr. Magoo." Slappy quirked as she and Rem went into her kitchen.

"Oh, so who's using sarcasm now?!"

"I'm liscensed to."

The elder toon pulled out a card with the Warner Bros. logo and her signature on it. Rem frowned when she saw it.

"Figures." she fumed, folding her arms.

"So, how _are_ things gettin' along with you?" Slappy inquired.

Rem became quiet again.

"I guess...they're okay." she replied softly.

_Other than the fact that I totally wanna kill myself right now._

"Ya sure?" Slappy asked again. "Cause you look like you've just been grounded for life."

Rem let out one long and huge sigh.

"Everything's...okay." the teen whispered.

"Then lighten up will ya?!" Slappy ranted as she turned to her cupboard.

Rem slowly went to sit at the kitchen table without answering. Then she stared out the window. Watching the clouds again.


	17. Guess Who's Back?

***Chapter 2: Guess Who's Back?***

Deep in down town Burbank, where everything was pretty much deserted, was a large mansion-like compound. It was just by itself, with only a few other smaller buildings. Behind the larger compound was an old private jet. So old, that it wasn't even that valuable anymore.

Inside the compound, was a whole bunch of computer hardware and laboratory supplies. It was occupied by hundreds of toon drones. Yes, this was operated by none other than Dr. Frankeninni. He had set up shop here ever since Rem drove him out of his cavern lab in main Burbank. He'd also been creating an entire army of his experimental toons. Frankeninni had decided to give up trying to input personality and emotions to his newest creations and left them as they were, considering that the whole scheme with Rem turned out to be a total failure. Rem. The insane doctor was absolutely hell-bent on getting his revenge on her, and getting her back into his possession. Not only that, but Frankeninni also had a taste of revenge for studio boss, Mr. Thaddeus Plotz. The scientist wanted to get back at _him_ more than anything else. His last rejection of the mad doctor was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

"You're going to rue this day, Plotz." Frankeninni kept muttering to himself. "You're going to rue the day you ever trifled with _me_!"

In the main control room of the compound, Frankeninni had his yellowed and baggy eyes glued to a computer screen. Plans and blueprints were strewn about the floor. Then Omri came into the room. Since the experiment incident, he and the doctor had gotten a little close. Sort of like father and son in a funny way. Even though Omri was not made to have a colorful personality like normal toons, he seemed to be slowly developing one nonetheless.

"Doctor?" he called out. "Units 5, 6, and 7 are ready for deployment."

"Excellent, Omri." Frankeninni replied. "Our plans are going quite smoothly. Thad Plotz won't know what hit 'em!"

"What will happen after you get revenge on Plotz, sir?"

The insane scientist leaned back into his chair in thought.

"Well, perhaps I'll take over the studio." he mused. "Maybe in a way similar to how Gulf + Western took over Paramount."

Omri, with a blank face, blinked a few times curiously. Then Frankeninni leaned forward with his hands crossed and against his goateed chin.

"And if all goes exceedingly well, you may be just be reunited with your _sister_, Omri." he leered.

"You mean the female subject, sir?" Omri asked.

"Oh yes. I definitely have plans for her..."

XXXXXXX

Rem climbed out of the Water Tower and was headed for the Music Building. She wanted to play cello again because she had an urge to. In her mouth, was a snicker doodle that Dot had made two days earlier. Rem had a few more in her vest pocket. When she got to the Music Building, she saw a dog and a cat looking around in a garbage bin. Rem made a face.

_And here I thought __**I**__ had problems..._

Then teen decided to go over to them instead of going straight into the Music Building.

"You guys lookin' for something?" Rem asked.

"A nice warm house would be nice." said the cat.

"Yeah, definitely nice." the dog added. "Duh-definitely."

"Well, I wish I could help in that department." Rem replied, while reaching into her pocket. "But at least I can give you some sustenance that's not from a garbage can."

She pulled out the other snicker doodle cookies to which the cat and dog's expressions brightened up to.

"Gee thanks." the cat said. "What's your name?"

"Rem." the teen replied.

"I'm Rita."

"Rita's a good dog. Duh-definitely a good dog!" the canine babbled.

Both Rita and Rem looked at him with confessed and somewhat annoyed expressions. Rem blinked a few times.

"He really doesn't know that you're a-"

"Yep." Rita finished for her.

"Wow."

"And he's Runt by the way."

"HIIII!" Runt bellowed cheerfully.

"...'Sup?" Rem murmured.

"You're not related to the Warner's by any chance, are you?" Rita asked.

"No. Not at all. I'm just what you would call a house guest."

"I see. Well thanks for the snicker doodles, Rem. It's been nice meetin' ya."

"Definitely nice. Duh-Definitely." Runt added.

"See ya." Rem said, turning back toward the Music Building.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, Pinky and the Brain were passing through Burbank collecting supplies for their next plan to take over the world. Unfortunately, their previous plan which involved breaking into the NASA Headquarters had failed. But like all other the failed plans, this did not deter Brain from accomplishing his life's mission. Not in the slightest. The part of Burbank that he and his relatively mindless companion were venturing into, was the city limits. It was like a combination of forest and commercial land. The reason why they were there was because of a certain and special plant that Brain was seeking as part of his newest plan. The need for this, _special plant_ was crucial and it only grew in this part of Burbank, where vegetation was in abundance.

"Not much farther, Pinky." Brain said, while reading a map.

"Oh, these foothills pack a wallop on your feet, Brain. Zort!" Pinky moaned as he rubbed his left foot.

Brain was too busy scanning through his map to hear his partner complain. He next pulled out a compass to figure out a coordinance.

"This way, Pinky." Brain said.

"Oh I do hope we find that chrysan-whozits soon." Pinky sighed.

"Chrysanthemumplant, Pinky." Brain corrected.

"Oh. Poit."

They continued through the woods with Brain following the compass' arrow in every turn it made. Suddenly they found themselves in a clearing which made them both stop dead in their tracks.

"What on earth...?" Brain sputtered.

The mice had fallen upon a compound that was virtually surrounded with drones, marching up and down the area. A goofy grin appeared on Pinky's face.

"Oh boy, a parade! NARF! I just love parades!" he exclaimed joyfully.

"It's not a parade, Pinky." Brain rasped, with tension filling him.

All he knew was that if they didn't clear out of there now, they would be in ivery/i big trouble.

"Quickly, Pinky." the smaller mouse urged. "We need to get out of here."

"Why, Brain?" Pinky asked, confused. "Don't we need to find that plant?"

"HALT!"

A drone guard caught them.

"RUN, PINKY!" Brain cried.

But it was much too late. By the time the mice tried to flee, a whole garrison of drone guards came rushing over and surrounded them. When the drones pointed their ray guns at the two mice, they raised their hands in surrender.

"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?" Brain nervously asked.

"I think so, Brain." Pinky replied absentmindedly. "But I think we might have interrupted their parade. Zort."

"No, Pinky." Brain sighed in frustration.

"Hands where we can see them!" shouted a drone.

Both mice raised their hands higher.

"Take them to the Doctor!" commanded another drone.

"I think we're doomed, Pinky." Brain said in a low voice.

XXXXXXX

Back at the studio, Rem was in the Music Building and on the cello, playing her favorite Bach suite. Rita and Runt, after hearing the first measure, decided to stick around and listen to her play. The even flow of the music had put them in a sort of dream land.

"Wow." Rita marveled. "That kid plays pretty darn good."

"Yeah, definitely good." Runt agreed. "Duh-definitely good."

Rem meanwhile was completely focused on the memorized notes that were written on a mental sheet of music in her mind. Like before, she bobbed to the melody. The forte quickly attracted a certain trio of birds that happened to be flying over the studio. Squit's head perked up when the music reached his ears.

"Hey fellas, you hear that?" he called.

Both Pesto and Bobby extended their wings to their ears to pick up on what Squit was listening to. They too heard the product of Rem's talents.

"Mmmm, sounds like someone's playin' a harp." Bobby said.

"Actually Bobby, I think it's more of a stringed instrument." Squit pointed out.

"A harp _is_ a stringed instrument, you demented ding-dong!" Pesto ranted before smacking his associate across the head.

They flew down and perched on the roof to hear Rem play. Like Rita and Runt before them, they fell under the spell of her sliding the bow across the strings and creating a velvety tune. Of course Rem was totally unaware that she was attracting an audience outside. It wasn't long before the Warners, who finally realized she took off yet again, went looking for her. Once they heard the sound of a cello playing, they instantly knew where she was at. Upon arrival, at the Music Building, they saw Rita, Runt, and the Goodfeathers all sort of swooning to the music Rem created to which they exchanged shrugs to each other. Rem carried into the last few measures of the Bach piece, concentrating fully on the last beat. Then she slowly and gracefully came to a stop. When she finally opened her eyes again, Rem found the Warner trio gathered around her.

"Now I know _that_ one's Bach." Yakko quipped.

"_Prelude from Suite for Unaccompanied Cello._" Rem confirmed.

"Say, isn't Bach on our agenda today, Dot?"

The pink clad Warner pulled out a little blue book and put on a pair of glasses while scanning through the pages.

"Nope." she announced. "It's that goofy Mozart."

Rem sort of took offence to that.

_Goofy?! Dude created one of the most awesome pieces of freaking music..._

"Well then let's get a move on." Yakko exclaimed. "Come siblings!"

With that, they zipped off dragging Rem along with them.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, at the compound, Pinky and Brain were imprisoned in a tightly locked in a cage. They were also in the main control room where Dr. Frankeninni was leering at his catch.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Brain!" the mad scientist quirked. "Heh, heh, still trying to take over the world, my friend?"

"I'm not your friend..." Brain growled in a low voice.

"You're probably wondering what an old hack like me is up to all the way out here."

Brain raised an eyebrow.

"Well, when you put it that way..." he murmured.

"Your parade training is absolutely marvelous!" Pinky cheerfully complimented, causing both Brain and Frankeninni to make faces at him. "Ha ha ha! ZORT!"

The mouse's genius companion then grabbed his muzzle and roughly pulled him down to his level.

"Be quiet Pinky, or I'll have to hurt you." Brain threatened.

He let go of Pinky's muzzle, causing him to tenderly rub it. Dr. Frankeninni meanwhile laughed at them.

"So silly..." he scoffed.

"Whatever you have under your sleeve, Frankeninni, it won't work." Brain countered, pointing intently at the scientist.

"Yeah! Narf!" Pinky piped in, matching Brain's angry expression.

The mad doctor merely laughed.

"I'm afraid that is where you're wrong my...small friends." he said. "You see, this plan cannot fail because I have a whole horde of drones behind me. This time I shall succeed! I shall have my revenge and take back what's rightfully mine!"

"That wouldn't mean kidnapping a certain young lady, would it?" Brain asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Oh, but of course. However, before I get to that, I have a studio to conquer! MWO-HA-HA-HA!"

Brain had a anxious expression on his face while Pinky was a bit confused.

"This isn't good, is it Brain?" he asked.

"No Pinky, it isn't" Brain replied with dread in his voice.

* * *

**AN: Gulf + Western was a corporation that took over Paramount Studios in the mid-60s. Now Paramount's owned by freaking Viacom. Anyway, I'd like to know what you guys think about the list of songs I post with the storylines. I want your imput :)**


	18. Taking the Studio

***Chapter 3: Taking the Studio***

One day later, nobody knew that the two mice were being held prisoner by Dr. Frankeninni. Nor were they aware of what he was planning to do. Everyone was completely oblivious.

Today, the Warners and Rem were going to have individual sessions with Dr. Scratchansniff. It made Rem feel a bit relieved. At least she wouldn't be hounded by the trio whenever something new about her came to light.

After an hour and a half of waiting, Yakko came waltzing out of the studio shrink's office. It was Rem's turn now. She walked past him as he grinned at her.

"Break a leg." he quirked.

"Whatever." Rem muttered.

As soon as she was inside, both Yakko and Dot started to walk down the hall.

"Hey, where we going?" Wakko asked as he scampered up to his brother and sister to catch up.

"Remember that phone call we got from Slappy Squirrel?" Yakko replied.

"Uh-huh?"

"We're gonna make a brief stop at her place, and then we'll come back and pick up Rem."

"You think that it's a good idea to leave her here?"

"She's with Scratchy, Wakko." Dot said. "How much trouble can she get into?"

XXXXXXX

"Have a seet, Rem."

Rem went over to the therapy couch and sat down. Dr. Scratchansniff in turn sat down in his arm chair.

"How are you today, Rem?" he asked.

"Fine." Rem simply replied with a heaving sigh.

"Vould you like to describe thees, _cloud vatching_ for me?"

There was a short pause as Rem did some mental cursing.

"Whenever I feel like it, I go out to a grassy field and just watch the sky. It's a lot more interesting when there's clouds."

"Vhy eez it interesting?"

"Because I like watching them passing by me."

There was another pause as Dr. Scratchansniff jotted down a few things on his notepad with a pencil.

"You like clouds, Rem?" he asked pointedly.

"Duh. I freaking hate the sun!" Rem hissed in sheer contempt.

"Vhy do you hate ze zun?"

"...because it's too damn bright. I would much rather prefer the weather to be cloudy with a very good chance of thunder storms."

Dr. Scratchansniff wrote more things into his notepad.

"Let's move on, ja?" he said.

"Sure, whatever." Rem replied with a shrug.

"Vhat other theengs bother you?"

Rem was silent. Clearly she still had a very big problem with opening up.

"I...I get bouts of claustrophobia sometimes." she finally said.

Which wasn't a lie. Rem used it to steer him away from any _personal_ stuff. But Scratchansniff got a little wary of this, remembering how emotionally unstable she became a few months ago.

"How badly do you get thees claustrophobia vhen thees bouts occur?"

_Crap..._

He'd caught Rem in a personal spot. Surprisingly however, instead of hiding it and resisting the P-sychiatrist's questions, she decided to drop her shield of pride.

"Once...when I was six, I got a little stuck inside of a tube slide. You know the ones you find on a playground?"

"Ja, go on."

"I...had a panic attack. They had to call an ambulance so the medics could give me oxygen, but I ended up having to stay in a hospital overnight."

"Rem, could you telling me vho _they_ are?"

The teen got really quiet. That passed the limit.

"I'd...rather not." she said lowly.

"Vhy?" Scratchansniff asked.

"...it's complicated."

The therapist went back into his notepad. Though he was a bit disappointed that he didn't get a breakthrough of sorts, but this was a very challenging case. And most challenging cases were not easy to make breakthroughs on. In fact, it could take months to achieve that. The 'they' that Rem was referring to, could've been her family. It had to. Her reclusiveness on this particular subject gave the shrink a clue as to where the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder came from. Yet there was something strange. Rem had no difficulty mentioning her grandmother to Dot. Why not the rest of her family?

"Rem." Dr. Scratchansniff began again in a gentler voice. "Vould you mind if ve try discussing your family again? Vhatever you zay does not have to leeve thees room."

Rem went deep into thought. The shrink was going into very forbidden territory. Rem _never_ talked about her family. Not even Alice. She took a deep breath.

"Both my mother and father are dead." Rem slowly began. "They...died in a plane accident with 23 others. I was 10. Four years later my grandma passed away and...and then I was left with...my brother."

"Vho eez your brother Rem?" Scratchansniff asked, a bit surprised to hear her mention a brother.

Rem got even quieter than she had been that session. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.

"...that's...that's enough." she said softly, opening her eyes back up. "I _really_ don't want to talk about it."

Dr. Scratchansniff made a frown. Even though she didn't say it or tried not to show it, it was clearly evident that something very deep down inside of her psyche, whatever it may be, was really bothering her. The studio therapist decided not to push the envelope any further than it already had and let it go for today.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, the Warners went skipping over to Slappy Squirrel's tree house at her request. She was watching another episode of Jerry Springer, but wasn't really paying attention to it when the Warners came calling.

"You rang?" Yakko quirked after the elder toon opened the front door.

"Yup." she replied. "Come on in."

The kids sat at her couch while she took to her trademark blue antique arm chair. All the while, Skippy was curiously watching from the staircase.

"So, how's the kid doin'?" Slappy asked the Warner trio.

"She's coming along okay." Yakko said with a grin.

"She's also fun to tease." Wakko added, to which both he and Yakko shared a chuckle.

Dot on the other hand wasn't pleased with them, and folded her arms.

"Rem's honestly not so bad." the youngest Warner said. "I think she might be a just a _teensy_ bit lost."

Slappy raised an eyebrow.

"A 'teensy bit'? Let's try a whole dang truck load." she hacked.

"It's not as bad as it was before." Yakko protested. "I think we're actually making some progress here."

"And Scratchy's working on her too." Wakko pointed out.

The Squirrel leaned back in her arm chair.

"I don't know folks, somethin' tells me we're only scratchin' the surface here." she said while making a face.

Then the Warners suddenly appeared next to her clad in construction worker attire.

"Well then we're just gonna have to break more ground." Yakko quipped, while leaving on a shovel.

Slappy raised another eyebrow. Like she was completely unimpressed with their antics.

"Enough with the gags." the elder toon ranted.

The trio then whirred back to their normal attire.

"You kids _are_ watchin' Rem like a hawk, _right_?" Slappy continued.

"Oh sure. Most of the time." Dot replied. "Although we gotta admit that she wanders off sometimes, but we find her."

"That's what concerns me." Slappy said with a frown. "Until we figure out what the heck is wrong with this kid, she oughta be on 24/7 watch."

"Which reminds us," Yakko politely interjected, while looking at a wrist watch on his arm that had an hour glass instead of a clock. "we gotta go get her from Scratchy's office."

The three toons then leapt to their feet.

"It was nice of you to have us, Slappy." Yakko said gallantly.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. My pleasure." Slappy sarcastically replied. "What the-?"

When the squirrel had opened the door, everyone in the tree house suddenly found themselves surrounded by toon drones. Armed toon Drones.

"Ehhhhhh, I think someone forgot to return a book to the library." Yakko nervously joked.

"Everyone hands up and surrender!" one of the Drones angrily demanded.

"Ahhh, eat dynamite you hack!" Slappy shot back.

She then threw a small TNT barrel with a lit fuse at them and it exploded on contact. But shockingly, the Drones who remained standing were completely undeterred.

"Engage arsenal!" another Drone exclaimed into a radio.

Then two other Drones dropped a metallic cube to the ground. A few seconds later, that cube suddenly morphed into a walking battle tank, similar to the one Dr. Frankeninni had used previously. Slappy, Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Skippy-who had joined his aunt and the trio in the doorway to see what all the fuss was about-all looked as if they had met their match.

"Ehhhh, it's probably just me, but I think using dynamite might have been a _bad_ idea." Yakko said with his ears drooping.

"OPEN FIRE!" the leader Drone bellowed.

Slappy quickly slammed her front door shut and she along with the four toons ducked for cover, as the tree house got bombarded with lasers.

"Well, isn't this just grand?" Yakko said sarcastically.

"Hang on a minute," Wakko said with sudden realization. "I recognize those guys! They're the fake toons Dr. Frankeninni made!"

"Looks like Frankenputz got busy." Yakko added matter of factly.

"I don't care if that yutz made spinin' toys!" Slappy ranted with angry annoyance. "Those hacks are messin' up my house!"

Then the arsenal from outside tore the tree in half, revealing the toons hiding from within. Now Slappy was _really_ pissed.

"That does it!" she exclaimed, furiously pounding her fist on the floor.

The squirrel jumped up and pulled out a rocket launcher from her hammer space.

"EAT THIS!" she shouted.

Slappy attempted to fire at the arsenal, but before she even had a chance to aim, a claw on a coiled tether shot out and grabbed her. It pulled her inside the arsenal itself, with the other toons fearfully looking on.

"Aunt Slappy!" Skippy cried out.

The machine then turned its attention on the remaining four toons.

"Doesn't _this_ remind you of anything?" Yakko asked sarcastically in a nervous voice.

"Unless you're talking about _War of the Worlds_, not really." Dot replied, her voice matching her brother's anxious tone.

The arsenal gave a whirring roar, and extended more claw-like limbs ready to strike. Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Skippy scrambled to get away. They each attempted to use their zany cartoon antics as a means of fighting back or escaping. But alas, it wasn't any use. Dr. Frankeninni programmed the arsenal to follow their every move. Like with Slappy, Skippy and the Warners were captured altogether. Afterwards, the Drones started to survey and scan the area.

"Doctor," one Drone said, speaking into a radio. "female subject was not among the Warner family."

"Then search the studio!" roared Frankeninni from the radio speaker. "Burn it to the ground if you must! And capture Plotz while you're at it!"

"As you wish, doctor."

XXXXXXX

Back at the Warner Lot, Rem was being walked out of the therapy building by Dr. Scratchansniff. Since the Warners weren't in the hall waiting for her, the studio shrink decided to accompany her outside. He didn't want to leave her by herself with all those negative feelings swirling around in her head.

"How do you feel about our zession today Rem?" Scratchansniff inquired.

_Totally fucking miserable._

"Somewhat neutral." Rem lied.

"Neutral?"

"Yeah."

_Damn it. Can't everyone just leave me as I am, and quit trying to probe my freaking mind?!_

"Vell, it's gud zat you're not keeping it all in, Rem." Scratchansniff continued.

"Oh really?" Rem replied sarcastically. "Why's that?"

"It's more healthier zat vay."

_...that still doesn't change a thing._

Suddenly, she froze. Her sixth sense picked up on a small torpedo-like rocket headed straight for them. The p-sychiatrist noticed her spontaneous distress.

"Rem...?"

"GET DOWN!"

Rem, in the split second that occurred, shoved the therapist and herself towards the right. After doing so, the impending rocket exploded on impact at the very spot where Rem and Scratchansniff once stood. Now on the ground both looked a little flustered.

_Shit!_

Mr. Plotz definitely heard the explosion from his office and came darting out in a panic, joined shortly by Ralph. Even Hello Nurse came darting out.

"What on earth was that?!" Plotz cried.

As Rem helped Scratchansniff up to his feet, more explosive rockets came raining down on them, causing everyone in the whole studio, especially Plotz, to go into a panic. Rem frantically searched all directions for the source.

_Damn it, where the hell are those freaking things coming from?!_

Meanwhile, all the noise from the studio quickly attracted the attention of a certain trio of pigeons who were apparently snoozing on their prized statue.

"...*snort* eh? What gives?" Squit yawned.

"What's with all the dang racket?!" Pesto ranted.

"Hmm, sounds like they're filmin' a war epic over there." Bobby deduced.

The chaos at the studio continued and the Goodfeathers got less and less tolerant of it.

"Those dang directors don't give us any respect, Bobby!" Pesto angrily ranted.

"No respect at all." Bobby agreed.

Then, the purple headed pigeon took to the air.

"Pesto, where are you going?" Squit called out.

"I'm gonna teach those Hollywood big shots to wake _me_ up while I'm tryin' to sleep!" Pesto furiously replied.

Squit and Bobby both exchanged glances and took flight after their hot-headed associate. However when they got to the Warner Bros. studio, they found it to being trampled over by several arsenals.

"Hmmm, some props we got over here." Bobby commented.

Then, one arsenal picked up on their presence and took to the air like them. The Goodfeathers gave flustered expressions when they realized that this wasn't a movie being made.

"Uhhh, I don't think that's a prop, fellas." Squit nervously said.

The arsenal fired a claw at the trio of pigeons, who tried to fly away whilst shouting out of turn. The claw easily caught them and promptly went back to its previous task.

In the main lot of the studio, Ralph and other security guards tried holding off the invading force, while Mr. Plotz was hiding in a corner frantically trying to call the police from a wireless phone. Then there was a cease fire from the arsenals, allowing a very large group of toon Drones poured into the lot. Seeing that the situation was going to get A LOT hairier fast, Dr. Scratchansniff quickly grabbed a hold of Rem and jumped into an empty security cart.

"What are you doing?!" Rem cried out.

The therapist did not answer her. A few seconds later, the security cart came to a screeching halt in front of the Water Tower.

"Rem, git into ze tower!" Dr. Scratchansniff ordered. "You'll be zafer there!"

"Wuh-Wait a minute!"

But before Rem had a chance to protest, the p-sychiatrist had already sped away.

_Tch. Like hell I'm gonna stay out in the sidelines!_

Suddenly she sensed a rocket coming straight for her and quickly dodged it.

"Safer my ass." she ranted under her breath.

Rem picked herself up, and ran back towards the front gates of the studio. All the employees and security guards were either dodging firing ray guns or surrendering to the Drones. Scratchansniff was now being held in a stickup after his cart had crashed. One Drone had Mr. Plotz in his grasp as the CEO dangled helplessly in the air.

"I don't understand what you crazy people want!" the poor studio boss cried as sweat came down his bald head.

At this point, Rem was angrily befuddled. She already knew that Dr. Frankeninni was behind all this, just by looking at the Drones themselves. They were pure products of that mad scientist. But why? Was his beef with the studio and Mr. Plotz that big or something?

"YOU THERE! HALT!"

Rem froze when she was suddenly called out by the Drone leader.

"RUN, REM!" Dr. Scratchansniff cried out.

Rita and Runt, who happened to be hanging around the studio before the mayhem, were nervously looking on. Rem was starting to wonder why all the attention seemed to be on her.

"You're the female subject." the Drone Leader declared. "You will come with us!"

Rem narrowed her eyes to a point where it made even Mr. Plotz flinch.

"What for?"

"Dr. Frankeninni demands that you be brought to him! Now come peacefully, and your companions won't-"

At that moment, when the teen realized that it was _her_ they were after, that _she_ was the reason why they were here causing all the chaos to begin with, she couldn't think, hear, or feel. Her mind became completely incoherent to everything with only one thought swirling around it continuously.

_This...was all...just to capture me..._

Hot, really hot warmth began to pool throughout her form and a red screen slowly irised into her vision as her hearing returned. She wasn't just feeling really pissed...she felt _rage_. Pure rage. But it was strange. Her consciousness was being pulled further and further under as another took its place. Its aura surrounded her and although it was barely audible as a whisper, everyone else's ears twitched to the sound of a soft roaring emitting from a Beast and into the air.

The Drone Leader finally decided he waited long enough for Rem to respond after 3 minutes of bellowing orders and began to quickly approach her before she had a chance to escape.

It would be the last mistake he would ever make, as he ultimately met his Fate right then and there in a flash of platinum and steel.


	19. The Ultimate Sin

**AN: A word of caution before reading. This chapter has a bit of violence in it. If you're really sqeamish I suggest you NOT read.**

**Other than that, enjoy. Btw, you can check out a piece of artwork I did a while back for this chapter in my DeviantART gallery. Look under the 'Animaniacs Stuff' folder.**

* * *

***Chapter 4: The Ultimate Sin***

The toons that were captured in the arsenals were immediately teleported to the compound in which Dr. Frankeninni resided. They all found themselves in aluminum cages, similar to the one that Pinky and the Brain were locked in. As a matter of fact, they were all locked up a spare room in the compound where Omri had placed the two mice hours earlier.

"Nice of you to join us." Brain muttered.

"Hello, everyone! ZORT!" Pinky exclaimed excitedly while waving.

"Wow, you guys got it, too?" Wakko marveled.

"Regrettably, yes."

"Mind sharin' some inside info?" Slappy asked. "Like what in the heck is that crack pot up to now?"

"The man's insane." Brain grumbled.

"So what else is new?" Yakko quipped.

"He's been creating a whole army of Drones."

"He's certainly been a busy little bee, hasn't he?" Dot commented.

"I don't get it, what the heck is Frankeninni gonna do with an army of hack toons?" Slappy asked again.

"For two reasons." Brain told them. "One, he wants revenge. Big surprise there. And two, to recapture Rem."

After hearing that, the Warners' expressions went sour.

"What for?" Yakko demanded.

"Yeah?!" Dot piped in.

"He wants her back in his custody, I believe." Brain said, scratching his chin.

"That ain't happenin'." Slappy retorted. "Girl's screwy enough."

Then another Drone walked in, carrying a small cage. Inside it were the three Goodfeathers, all shouting out of turn and flapping their wings about. The Drone dropped the cage down on an empty spot and promptly left the room.

"What gives?!" Squit cried.

"I'm gonna give that moop the beaking of his life! AH FAZOOLI!" Pesto roared.

"Get in line." Bobby told him.

Then the floor under them suddenly went up like an elevator, revealing platforms beneath the cages. They went all the way up into the ceiling and found themselves in a very large room. Almost as large as a ballroom. Before them was the mad doctor himself, standing in front of a desk. Behind the desk was a very large window that overlooked the left side of the area surrounding the compound. The mad scientist looked absolutely pissed. He angrily stomped toward the Warner trio.

"Alright you little insufferable mongrels where is she?!" Frankeninni demanded.

The trio looked at each other and exchanged grins.

"Which she are you referring to?" Yakko quirked.

"That she?" Wakko said, as he pointed towards Slappy.

"Or this she?" Yakko said, pointing towards his sister.

"YOU KNOW WHO I MEAN!" Frankeninni roared in a really loud voice, making all the toons before him jump. "I must have trampled your precious studio to the blasted ground by now!"

"Is that so? Then how did you get here so fast? Or do you have a robot twin?" Yakko asked cockily.

The insane doctor then stomped forward and grabbed the elder Warner by the neck, hoisting up in the air.

"You _will_ tell me she's at, you little brat!" he hissed.

"I didn't know you could rhyme!" Yakko exclaimed in a surprised sounding voice, while putting a hand to his cheek.

Dr. Frankeninni was just about ready to strangle him, until his ear twitched to the sound of his radio walkie-talkie going off. Instead, he merely threw Yakko to the ground and went to the desk and grabbed the radio.

"What is it?!" Frankeninni ranted. "I'm busy!"

The scientist listened to the radio speaker, in which his angry expression turned to shock and disbelief. And then, even more angrier.

"WHAT?!" he bellowed. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN UNITS 5, 6, AND 7 ARE MISSING?!"

"Hmmm, it appears that your plans are souring, sir." Brain commented.

"SHUT UP! AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE A USUAL RECORD OF FAILURE!"

"Is that the _best_ you can come up with?!" Dot countered.

"I say we pummel the jerk!" Pesto ranted, shaking his fisted wing.

"Eh, I wouldn't mind gettin' a little exercise." Slappy added.

After hearing that, Frankeninni quickly scrambled to the desk drawer and pulled out a device.

"HA! If any of you move, I'll send you all back to your cages!" he sneered.

Then, Omri's voice crackled through the static of the radio. His voice sounded a little frantic.

"Sir! I've just lost contact with Unit 4!"

Simultaneously, the toons' ears picked up really faint screaming coming from outside the compound.

"What?! What do you mean you _just_ lost contact with Unit 4?!" Dr. Frankeninni cried. "WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON?!"

_**KRRRAAAAAAAAACCCKKKSSSSSSHHH !**_

Suddenly in that moment, the body of a Drone was violently hurled at the window, smashing into it and making large cracks in the glass. There was a deep slash going from the Drone's hip to its shoulder, gushing out and splattering ink across the window like someone stomped on an unopened ketchup packet. It happened so fast and it was so horrible that it really made everyone in the room jump back terror. Even Dot almost let out a scream as the fallen Drone's body slowly slid down and eventually fell from the building. Realizing that he really had a huge problem on his hands, Dr. Frankeninni quickly pushed the button on the device that sent the toons back into the spare room. But he forgot to push the second button that looked the cages. Then the mad doctor frantically went to his intercom.

"Attention all units!" he said into the speaker. "Everyone back inside the compound. I repeat, back inside the compound!"

After delivering his message, Frankeninni raced down the hall towards the basement. While in the hall, he was joined by Omri.

"Omri! What's going on out there?!" he demanded.

"I'm not sure, sir!" Omri cried. "I've lost all contact with the Units!"

"No matter! I've called them back inside. We'll get to the bottom of this!"

XXXXXXX

When the toons were sent back below, they landed back into their cages. But since the cages weren't shut and locked, they easily tipped over to the side, letting the toons out of them.

"Looks like somebody forgot to shut the door." Yakko quirked while rubbing his fanny.

"Tha-that was nuts!" Skippy rasped with wide eyes. "That was like watchin' a horror movie!"

"That reminded me of how Mario Pinfeatherz ended up." Bobby recalled thoughtfully.

"_Cooooo_ yeah." Pesto shuddered, with his body puffing up and feathers sticking out.

Then they all heard a door being slammed open. To the left of the room, the wall was a large bullet-proof glass window nearly reaching from the ceiling to the floor. In the area across them was the basement. They saw Dr. Frankeninni marching angrily down the stairs with his assistant tagging along closely behind.

"Call a few drones and get them down here at once!" the scientist demanded. "Have them take the other way, just in case."

"Yes sir!" Omri replied.

"I guess it's safe to assume that you're still having problems." Yakko quirked while leaning on the glass with one hand and the other at his hip.

"SILENCE, YOU STUPID CHILD!" Dr. Frankeninni snapped. "No one asked _you_."

Before the elder Warner could smartly respond, there was a loud thud upstairs along with some shouting.

"Omri! Get up there and see what the devil is going on up there!" Frankeninni ordered.

"Yes sir!" Omri replied obediently.

He went up the stair case and into the hall. What he saw next after shutting the door made him freeze. It would the last his eyes would ever see.

xxxxxxx

"Why don'tcha give it up, Frankenputz?" Slappy said.

"NEVER! AND QUIT CALLING ME THAT!" Frankeninni ranted.

"I don't think he's gonna concede." Yakko quipped. "Slappy, would you kindly do the honors?"

"My pleasure." the elderly squirrel replied with a grin.

She got out a huge wooden mallet out of her hammer space. The scientist was none too happy to see that.

"Y-you put that down this instant!" Dr. Frankeninni stammered.

But Slappy ignored him and swung the mallet directly at the glass, making one big crack it.

"Heh, shatter-proof glass. Impressive." she quirked.

"STOP THAT!" Frankeninni cried.

One more swing, and the glass came tumbling like a sheet of taffy.

"Heh, just like rubber." Slappy cracked.

Suddenly, they all heard a scream, which caused everyone to direct their attention to the door up the stairs. The screaming continued until there was an abrupt silence followed immediately by ink splattering on the small window in the door. Even though they were quite a bit away from the sight of the door, the toons still caught part of the window getting spotted with ink, causing them to flinch a little. An eerie silence set in for a few moments before the door slowly opened. Another two seconds ticked by with nothing happening and all eyes on the top of the stairs. Suddenly, the body of a Drone was thrown violently out the door, slamming hard against the wall and then dropping to the floor like a sack of potatoes. It made everyone jump with a start.

"WHOA!" Wakko exclaimed.

It was the now lifeless form of Omri. He appeared to have been impaled straight through the gut. His eyes were still open, looking more blank than they were when he was alive. And yet they still seemed to have a bout of terror in them. Omri's ink pooled on the floor around him as footsteps came progressively down the stairs. The staircase ended behind a partly closed thick curtain. Everyone's eyes widened in complete horror and disbelief, particularly the toons, when the person emerged from the curtain opening and into the light.

It was Rem. Looking like complete hell. Her fur was a mess-with her blue rose clip now missing-her clothes were partially ripped, and she was covered head to toe with Drone ink. There even was ink splashed across her face. In Rem's hands was her jagged and fang-shaped katanna, which was drenched and dripping with ink. She slowly opened her eyes with a completely deadpan expression. Everyone else just stared at her, completely horrified and in shock. The ticking time bomb had finally exploded. Maybe they saw this coming, but they still couldn't believe it was happening before their very eyes.

"What..._what have you done?!_" Dr. Frankeninni cried in a dry voice.

Which was the very same thought that crossed the minds of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Sure Rem was a bit on the violent side, but they never imagined her to be capable of...of _this_. Rem didn't answer the mad doctor. Instead she had a slight expression that seemed to read: '_What do you think?_'.

"But you're..._you're not built for that!_" Frankeninni protested. "_No toon is built for that!_"

Rem then gave him and extremely menacing look which made him and the other toons flinch.

"...You forget that I wasn't **born** a toon." she said icily.

The doctor then gave her an equally menacing look.

"I see." he growled. "How do you expect to ferret your way out of this, little girl?!"

Rem's ears twitched behind her and her eyes shifted to the side. She knew that something was behind the curtain ready to strike out at her.

"You know what _really_ pisses me off about you?" Rem said in a low and malice tainted voice. "You seem to enjoy dragging other people into your freaking messes."

As the teen was talking, she flipped her blade so it was facing the curtain. Then she violently jabbed it backwards through the curtain and a gurgling cry was heard. Rem yanked her blade forward, pulling out one of the Drones that were hiding behind the curtain.

_(Now Playing: What You Want[Bonus Track Remix]by Evanescence)_

The rest of the Drones emerged from the curtain ready to fight. Meanwhile Dr. Frankeninni quietly slinked away into a hidden door inside the basement. Rem was the only one who noticed him leave. She attempted to follow, but the other Drones prevented her from doing so. Like before, her anger ran high. The scary part was that her facial expression didn't really show it. Even though you could slightly read rage into it, her face was almost and still completely dead pan. The toons on the other hand, were frozen in their spots. They were just so horrified by Rem's actions that the only thing they _could_ do was watch it all play out. Within seconds she took out two thirds of the group that tried to beat her into submission. One Drone eyed the toons that were on the sidelines as he backed off. When Rem started coming after him, he snatched Skippy and threw him at her just as she leapt forward ready to strike.

It all happened so fast, no one was able to scream or cry out. Realizing the Drone was using the young squirrel as a living shield, Rem in a split decision, threw her weapon aside, making it stab into the wall with a loud clang. Skippy then just bumped roughly into Rem instead and they both tumbled to the floor. If it was possible, there would've been a great sigh of relief. Skippy got a little dizzy with a few stars circling his head while Rem gently pushed him aside. But now she had a bit of a problem. She was currently unarmed.

Without her weapon, it would've been assumed that Rem wouldn't be able to fight. Not in the slightest. Instead of using her katanna, she would use years of ju-jitsu and other martial arts training. When one Drone came at her she grabbed his wrist and violently stroke his head twice with her right foot, making the Drone's neck snap. Another Drone tried his hand against Rem, but instead got one hard punch in the gut, hard enough to make its heart stop beating. Rem then went over to the wall and wrenched her out of it. The last Drone-the one that used Skippy as a shield-came after Rem in a desperate attempt to finish her. She swung around and slashed him on the spot, sending him towards the opposite end of the basement.

With the team annihilated, Rem slowly went towards the hidden door and after Dr. Frankeninni. She didn't acknowledge the Warners or the other toons.

_(End Music.)_

XXXXXXX

Dr. Frankeninni ran through a secret hidden hallway where a circular staircase stood at the end that went up to the third floor of the compound. The third floor only had two rooms. One small room with a balcony facing the front of the building and a larger one that had a fire escape that led to the roof. Frankeninni went up to the roof where a few surviving Drones had powered up his escape jet and were waiting for him. But before he had a chance to even get close to his jet, Rem suddenly appeared.

"Going somewhere, you fucking asshole?!" she hissed.

The mad scientist stared at her in surprise and fear. He backed away a little as she slowly advanced on him.

"Now l-look here, little girl." Frankeninni stammered. "J-just think about what you're doing..."

Rem gave him a look as if she thought he was spouting complete nonsense.

"You really think I give a damn at this point?" she replied coldly. "And you..._you know_ _**nothing**_ _of hell..._"

She struck her blade at him which he narrowly evaded. The Drones in the jet fired their ray guns at her. Rem repelled the rays with her katanna while Frankeninni scurried away. He hastily climbed into the jet as it started to take off. Rem saw them getting away and ran across the roof to catch up. Then she made one long jump towards the flying jet and grabbed a hold of the landing bars just barely. Rem tried to get inside, but the door had closed and she was losing her grip. Finally, her hand slipped and she fell into the foot hills below. She tumbled through the trees and landed on the grass. After collecting herself, Rem watched the jet fly away. She stared up at the sky a few minutes after the vehicle had disappeared from sight. Then she slowly looked down on her ink stained katanna. Rem could still see herself in the metal work. Her senses finally returned and that strange presence was lifted.

_...what the hell did I just do?_

Emotions that were previously held down indefinitely started to swell up inside her. Rem put a hand to her chest, feeling the pain of her heart beating. Standing in total silence, she tossed her katanna aside and proceeded into the woods.

Alone.

The stars of evening were just starting to appear. The ones that made up the constellation _Draco_ sparkled much more brightly than all the others.


	20. Aftermath

***Chapter 5: Aftermath***

Moments after Rem left the basement to go after Dr. Frankeninni, the toons finally broke from their 'shock trance' that held them there before. The first ones to after Rem were the three Warners. Like worried parents, they wanted to stop her before anymore damage was done. Fearing for their lives and safety, Slappy attempted to stop them.

"Wait!" she called out.

But the trio just simply ignored her. They went through the hidden hallway and up the circular staircase. The third floor was barren and deathly quiet. Then they heard the roaring engines from the jet outside. They swerved to their right and burst into the smaller room. No one was inside. There was another door that led to the balcony. The Warners quickly went through it and again froze on the spot.

The area surrounding the compound was just littered with the fallen bodies of all the drones that Frankeninni. Tiny rivers of ink were created from being pooled out of Drones' slashed up bodies. They were everywhere you looked. The atmosphere seemed to reflect the horrid scene, as the sun was setting and painting the sky scarlet. The less and less transparent crescent moon and stars were also hued in red. One of the smaller buildings was on fire because one drone fired upon it by accident. The Warners just stared in total disbelief.

"Oh man..." Yakko rasped, as the slight breeze fluttered through his ears and fun.

Wakko turned away for a bit, covering his mouth with his hand and holing in the contents of his stomach from upchucking. His two other siblings then noticed him.

"Are you okay, Wakko?" Dot asked in a worried tone.

"...y-yeah." Wakko stammered, holding his belly. "I'd shouldn't have ate that burrito..."

The rest of the toons made their way out of the compound and were subjected to the same grisly scene that the Warners saw.

"Oh my..." Brain murmured with his ears folding back.

Everyone then started to spread out. Hopefully _somebody_ was still alive out there. It was eerily quiet. Each Drone that was stumbled upon was mercilessly slaughtered. Rem had really gone all-out on them.

"It's like a graveyard out here." Squit said softly as he and the Goodfeathers walked around.

"Yeah..." Pesto agreed.

Pinky and the Brain were also looking around the field. Pinky was having a little bit of a hard time with it.

"Oh, Brain. I don't think I've seen anything so...so awful. Poit." he whimpered.

"Me too, Pinky." Brain replied. "Me too."

The only person, who seemed to think something was amiss, was Slappy Squirrel. She had a difficult time being convinced that Rem acted alone.

"Somthin' stinks." she thought aloud. "There ain't no way _one_ person could've done _all_ of this. At least not without help."

Skippy looked about the horrid scene surrounding him. Then he looked down at himself, seeing the slight black ink in the shape of a hand on his shoulder.

"She...can't be all bad, Aunt Slappy." Skippy said softly. "I mean, Rem threw away her sword when-"

"Don't remind me, you little yutz." Slappy grunted with an uncomfortable look.

Somewhere off in a different area, the Warner trio split up to survey the scene. And with any hope, locate Rem in the process. Dot sort of tip-toed every step she took as if stepping over tacks or laser beams. Then her eye was caught by something lying on the ground. It was the Blue Rose that Rem always wore in her hair. Except now, it looking just slightly trashed, and a few of the petals were torn out. Dot went over to it and slowly picked it up. Holding it in her hands, her eyes teared up a little. Thinking what on earth was going on in that troubled mind of her friend's. Then Dot held the rose close to her heart.

_Oh Rem..._

Not too far away, her brother Wakko was in the space where the woods began. He had following foot prints since he and his siblings separated. The foot prints had led him there after going all over the area. Then, in a stroke of luck, he found something that made his heart jump with excitement.

"HEY GUYS! OVER HERE!" he breathlessly called out.

The middle Warner had found Rem's scabbard lying on the ground. He looked intently into the wood before him after picking it up. The other toons, as well as his brother and sister rushed over after being alerted. Wakko had started into the woods slightly to see if he could find the scabbard's owner by any chance. But, after the others caught up to him, the only other thing they were able to find...was Rem's ink-drenched katanna. Alone and seemingly abandoned. Which meant that Rem had gone somewhere into the woods by herself.

Which was NOT a good thing.

Yakko had known how emotionally unstable Rem could get. He was the only one who witnessed her try and do away with herself. There would be a pretty good chance that she might do it again. Meanwhile, Slappy went over to Wakko and took Rem's now-sheathed katanna from him.

"Eh, I think I'll confiscate this for a while." she said.

"We gotta go after her." Yakko declared, looking greatly determined at the wood before him.

"And fast, we're losin' sunlight." Slappy added.

With that, the toons split up in their respective groups and set off into the woods and foot hills in search of Rem.

XXXXXXX

As the sun slipped lower and lower into the sky, a lone figure was walking continuously through the woods. The light went from bright red-orange and then a dark pink. The wind got a little more stronger than a breeze causing the figure to shiver a bit. It felt like autumn was well on its way to Burbank. The figure slowly descending into the woods like a lost soul, was Rem herself she spent the last 20 minutes trying to make sense of what happened at the compound. Every time she tried to think back, all she could remember was being at the courtyard of the compound, was all a blank. Absolutely nothing. Just blackness. It was really strange. It also scared the crap out her especially since this never ever happened to her before. How could anyone in her shoes explain what had happened?

As the wind blew past her, Rem shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. She continued through the woods, not bothering to stop.

_What did I do? What the __**hell**__ did I do?_

XXXXXXX

The Warner trio spent an hour and a half looking for Rem. When seconds started turning into minutes, all three Warners were starting to get desperate and frantic in their search. There seemed to be no sign Rem anywhere. Finally, it was nightfall, which prompted the Warners to double their efforts. The other toons hadn't located Rem either, even as they searched high and low for her.

The Warners came into a glen were a whole bunch of pine cone trees stood. Wakko had gotten out a lantern from his hammer space inside his sky blue turtle neck skirt to help light their way. The first quarter moon partly helped with its dim but bright illumination. All three of the Warners started to feel a fear that they never felt before in their lives. A fear that they might never find Rem.

Then, they turned a corner and found a large tree that sprouted white blossoms on its branches which gracefully waved in the wind. And to their great and miraculous relief, sitting under that tree, was Rem. She was sitting in a crouched position with her knees close to her chest and her back towards and against the trunk. Her head was down and resting against her knees. Rem seemed like a rock against her knees. Rem seemed like a rock against the light breeze. She was still covered in ink, but now it was all dry and sticky thanks to the air. Carefully, the Warners approached her. But somehow she already knew that they were there.

"I don't expect you to forgive me." Rem called out softly.

There was a silence between them. The wind continued to gently breeze by as if connecting their auras. Rem felt that the trio was patiently but intently, waiting for an explanation. But honestly, she didn't know what to say to them. Nor how to make them understand what she would say if anything. Rem took a deep silent breath.

"When...when I found out...that Frankeninni was after me..and was ramming through everybody else...I...I just lost it."

She didn't notice that her tone was getting a bit smaller and smaller with each word. Rem also started squeezing herself into a ball, pulling her legs closer to her chest. The Warners clearly saw that the whole incident had affected Rem a great deal more than everyone else.

"...the scary part is...I still can't remember what just happened." Rem continued. Saying it more to herself than the three toons who quietly listened.

As Rem was talking, and with a tweak of emotion, her hand had slightly jumped and fell upon a flower on the ground, that had fallen from the tree. She squeezed it hard, crushing it in her hand and letting the nectar leak out. Rem also squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold her emotions back. She feared that she might snap and blackout again. At this point, the Warners proceeded towards Rem. When she saw them coming, she slowly but shakenly got to her feet. The teen was expecting a tongue lashing or something to that effect, but instead felt fabric on her face. Yakko had pulled out a hanker from his hammer-space and started wiping her face. However it made Rem rather unsettled.

"Ngh! _Why aren't you mad at me?!_" she cried, weakly slapping away Yakko's hands.

"Hold still, willya?" Yakko softly ranted.

Rem continued to fidget around and protest, until Dot stepped in.

"Rem, calm down. Breathe." the Warner Sister said soothingly, putting her hands on Rem's shoulders.

Rem finally relaxed her jittery stance. Within minutes the dried was mostly off her face. A furious blush was on her pale white cheeks. It showed just how upset Rem really was, even though she was trying very hard not to express herself.

"Now then." Yakko began. "We're all gonna go back to the Studio and until we get this all straightened out, Rem, you're going to stick around. And anywhere else ya go, you'll be sticking with us. Okay?"

Rem silently nodded. Basically, he was telling her that she was grounded and she was not to leave the Studio or anywhere else unless they were with her.

"...okay." she replied in a small voice.

"And Slappy's gonna keep your...your _toy_ for the time being." Yakko continued.

"...okay."

There was a pause between the four as Rem drew in one long and deep breath. Dot took the Blue Rose she had in her hands this whole time and placed it in its rightful place in Rem's hair. Then after Yakko and Wakko put an arm around her shoulders, the small group began their journey back home.

XXXXXXX

12:05 AM The Next Morning.

After the Warners successfully located Rem, they caught up with the other toons that were still searching.

Nothing was said.

Then, the Warners plus Rem and with an escort by Slappy Squirrel went back to Burbank and to the Warner Bros. Studio. When they got there, they found partly to their horror, more Drones that added to the body count. The studio security along with Private Detectives were cleaning up the imess/i that Rem had previously made. Everyone from Mr. Plotz, Dr. Scratchansniff, Ralph, Hello Nurse, to Rita and Runt-who remained on the Lot to help out-all stared anxiously at the four toon youngsters as they proceeded to the Water Tower. Rem retained her dead pan expression on her face as she stared hard at the ground. Once inside the Tower, Dot softly insisted that Rem should wash up to which Rem did not argue with. Steam emitted from the bathroom after the shower above the bath tub was switched on. Rem's tattered clothes laid all splayed out on all over the floor as she got into the tub. She stood like a statue as the water came fountaining down her form. Ink that was still on her fur mingled and blended with the water as it went swirling down the drain. Rem, now that she was alone again, had a slightly distraught look on her face. She still couldn't recall what had happened before.

_Dammit, what did I do? What the __**fuck**__ did I do?!_

* * *

**AN: And thus concludes Act III.**

**=Song List=**

**Within Temptation**  
**-In the Middle of the Night**  
**-Faster**  
**-The Howling**  
**-Ice Queen**  
**-What Have You Done [Extended]**

**Evanescense  
-What You Want [Bonus Track Version]  
-My Heart is Broken  
-Erase This  
-End of the Dream**

**Nightwish**  
**-Sleeping Sun**

**Ozzy Osborne**  
**-The Ultimate Sin***

***I didn't realize that this song was in existance until I started planning this Act. And it was uncannily simliar to what I had planed. Weird huh? O.o**


	21. Interlude 3

**AN: Okay, this chap is entirely _Animaniacs _characters and they go a little bit OC. Other than that, I hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

***Interlude 3***

Two days after the horrific incident, Studio maintenance were still cleaning up and fixing the damages done by Dr. Frankeninni's Drones. And by Rem. A group of workers were picking up the parts of the destroyed arsenals and throwing them into a special dumpster truck. Another group was cleaning up the ink stained walls and then applying fresh paint. Everyone chipped in, even the Warners, with Mr. Plotz supervising.

"Ralph, make sure those trucks are fully loaded before they leave the Lot." the little man called out.

"Yeus, sirs." the security guard replied.

Then Yakko came over to the CEO with a brush broom in his hand.

"Well, the south wall of the head office is clear." he told the Studio Boss.

"Oh good." Mr. Plotz said. "Now we just have Soundstage 3 and 2 left."

There was a silence between them. A lot had been in the past 48 hours.

"So...how are you doing with this?" Yakko asked in a low voice.

"I'm taking it as best as I can, Yakko." Plotz answered truthfully. "It could've been a lot worse."

Yakko made a slightly wry face.

_Yeah...worse._

"By the way, how _is_ Rem doing?" the CEO asked curiously.

"Well, she's barricaded herself in Dot's walk-in closet and she won't come out." the elder Warner replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Poor child. I bet she's ready taking this hard."

"Uh-huh."

"Eh, no offence to Miss Roth, but don't you think it's bad that she's by herself right now? I mean, she might hurt herself."

"I wouldn't worry. Dot always keeps everything padlocked in her closet. And besides, Wakko's still in the Tower keeping an eye on Rem anyway."

Mr. Plotz was then called on to inspect the damage done to Soundstage 2. Yakko was joined by his sister Dot, who was clad in a painter's uniform.

"You know, I used to really enjoy painting," she said in distaste. "but now it feels like covering up something ugly. You know, like those hard-to-get-out stains?"

"You and me both, sister sibling." Yakko replied.

There was a brief pause. Finally, Dot began voicing her concerns about their charge.

"Yakko, it's been two days." she said.

"I know." her brother sighed.

"Don't you think we should at least find some way to get her out of that closet? Heck, I'm pretty sure she hasn't eaten."

Yakko made another wry face.

_Who would after all that?_

"Well, we've already tried coaxing her out of the closet. Wakko tried using candy."

"That's what makes _him_ happy. We gotta find something that'll cheer _Rem_ up!"

"Uh-huh, but that's easier said than done, I'll tell ya that."

But Dot had a point. There had to be some way to bring Rem out of her heavy cloud of darkness. And nothing fueled Yakko more than the memory of that day at Santa Monica Beach.

_I'VE GONE THROUGH MY WHOLE LIFE WITH NOBODY GIVING A SHIT! WHY SHOULD YOU BE ANY FUCKING DIFFERENT?!_

Something had to change. Frankly the Warners didn't care if it took forever. Something _had got_ to change.

XXXXXXX

Elsewhere in Burbank and underneath a bridge, was the Acme Labs. Brian had been trying to occupy himself with another plan to conquer the known universe. Pinky meanwhile was running in his cage also trying to take his mind off of what happened 48 hours ago. But his heart just wasn't into exercise at this time. His mind's eye kept going back to those moments where Rem just hacked those Drones. The hardest part for both mice, particularly Brain, was trying to find a logical explanation for it. How could it have happened? And why? Another difficult notion was who to feel pity for. It was kinda hard to feel bad for Dr. Frankeninni's ilk since he was the one responsible for getting them into that mess in the first place. But in the end, no one really deserved to go that way. Pinky stopped in his wheel for a moment and thought deeply to himself.

"Do you think it's a cry for help, Brain?" he asked aloud.

"What do you mean, Pinky?" Brain asked in reply.

"I mean, Rem isn't really bad person. Poit. But maybe something had happened to her from before and made her go...well..."

"Berserk?"

"Well...yeah. NARF!"

Brain let out a having sigh. He of course didn't think any less of Rem either before or after that incident. But Pinky for once, had raised a very logical theory. Thus far, the two mice nor anyone else had the slightest idea what Rem's background was like. The flames of curiosity were quickly fanned at that notion.

"I'm not quite sure, Pinky." Brain told his partner. "That's normally a question for a psychiatrist. But I suppose it wouldn't hurt to do some research."

Then a light bulb went off in Pinky's head and he made a grin.

"I know! We could use _Dr. Spock's Child Psychology Guide_!" he exclaimed, scrambling back into the cage.

Brain made a frown and looked as if Pinky was making a fool out of himself. Again.

"Pinky, I hardly think Rem accounts for the ages applied in child psychology." he muttered.

"Everyone starts somewhere, Brain. ZORT!" Pinky replied as he flipped through the pages of a book that was ten times his size.

Brain pinched the bridge of his nose and turned back to the computer he was previously working at. Then an idea of his own occurred to him. Rem had said before that she was from Palm Springs. Might there be any records on her floating around in cyberspace? Particularly ones on her family background? Brain tossed the large pencil he had in his hands and began hastily typing away with his feet on the giant key board.

XXXXXXX

At the Burbank park and inside a certain tree house, Slappy was inspecting the sword she confiscated from Rem with Skippy looking on. The weapon itself was truly unique and exquisite craftsmanship. The two squirrels could even see their reflections on the blade.

"I think it's haunted." Skippy said nervously.

"That's a load of crack." Slappy ranted. "Nice work whoever did it tho."

There was a pause as the elderly squirrel got a cloth seeped in special oil and started to polish the katanna.

"The real question is, where in the heck did Rem get her hands on this?" she continued. "This _had_ to have been imported from Japan or somewhere in the Far East."

"Do all swords from the Far East look like a dragon tooth, Aunt Slappy?" Skippy asked curiously.

"Heck if I know. Maybe you should try watchin' them Akira Kurosawa flicks."

A silence set in as Slappy continued to polish the sword. Then she noticed the charms dangling from the handle.

"Cute keychains tho." she said sarcastically.

Another pause.

"I wonder how Rem's doin'." Skippy said thoughtfully.

"Hopefully she's gettin' a rain check." Slappy said pointedly.

Her nephew threw her a dirty look with his hands on his hips.

"It's a joke, Skippy. Lighten up." the elder squirrel ranted.

"I feel kinda bad for her." Skippy continued. "Do you think something might've happened to her to make her be so down all the time?"

"Maybe. If she got grouchy enough, she could very well be that green yutz from Dr. Seuss."

"Or you..."

Slappy made a face as Skippy had raised his eyebrows at her.

"Very funny, Skippy." she replied. "You're a laughin' riot."

Then she slid the katanna into its sheathe.

"Maybe Scratchansniff can come up with somethin' provided the Warners don't drive him off the deep end first." Slappy continued.

Skippy looked out the window. The passing clouds reminded him of Rem.

_I hope so._

XXXXXXX

A few yards off from Slappy's the house and perched on a bench, were the Goodfeathers. In the past two days, they had been sort of re-thinking their lives after and at the same time thinking about Rem.

"I didn't know anyone could snap like that." Squit said. "I thought the only one who was a real hot head was Pesto."

Surprisingly, Pesto did not take offense to his associate's statement as he easily was before.

"I'm not that angry all the time." Pesto whimpered, trying to convince himself and his partners. "Am I? I mean, respect everyone. I respect the Godpigeon, I respect my mother, my sister..."

"I never knew a kid who had the guts to play around with knives." Bobby said. "And that fast. It's like a chainsaw, ya know what I mean?"

"Yeah." Squit and Pesto agreed.

Then flying towards them was the Godpigeon himself. The trio promptly embraced the old boss' talons and explained everything that had happened after they were asked why they looked so glum.

"Eeeeh, feme wasit sores fuie." the old pigeon muttered.

"The Godpigeon says, Hades hath no fury like a lady scorned." Bobby translated.

Squit became confused.

"What's that mean?" he asked.

"It means that when you tick a lady off, it's been nice knowin' ya." Bobby clarified.

"Oh."

"But it all happened so fast and there was black stuff everywhere!" Pesto exclaimed dramatically. "It was like watchin' _Speed_!"

"Except no Keanu Reeves." Squit added. "Or buses."

Godpigeon Sulley strutted over to Pesto and put a wing over his shoulders.

"Eeh, conolli bachuzi katputz ta la la." the Godpigeon groaned while extending his other wing and shaking his head.

"He says that a pigeon, who can't put the past behind him no matter how bad, can never be a decent Goodfeather." Bobby translated while scratching under his beak.

"So you're sayin' I should try to move on?" Pesto asked.

The old bird gave a nod.

"Eeh bachewie feme whozit eh foobie."

And with that, the Godpigeon walked away, leaving the Goodfeathers behind.

"He said that he still thinks Rem's a good kid and she might be a somebody, someday." Bobby told his associates.

There was a brief silence amongst them.

"I wonder if she'll be able to put that behind her." Pesto added thoughtfully.

XXXXXXX

Still remaining on the Warner lot even after the incident occurred, were Rita and Runt. Since Rem had disappeared into the Water Tower, they slinked by every couple of hours to see if perhaps if she would come out. After two whole days, they were starting to worry.

"Oh, I hope Rem's okay." Rita whimpered.

"Yeah, definitely okay." Runt agreed solemnly. "Duh-definitely."

Heaving a heavy sigh, the cat and dog started to walk away from the rarely silent Water Tower.

"I still can't believe that...that happened." Rita said. "I mean what has the world come to?"

"Gee, I don't know, Rita." Runt replied. "What _has_ the world come to?"

Rita sort of rolled her eyes at her canine companion's absent mindedness.

"I hope that kooky doctor's proud of himself." she growled.

"Scratchansniff?!" Runt asked, sounding a little shocked.

"No ya big gallute, Frankeninni!"

"Oh yeah him. Yeah, he really crosses my paws!"

Runt then proceeded to growl and snarl around while Rita looked at him like he was a total idiot.

XXXXXXX

The next day, the Studio was completely cleared from the broken arsenals and splattered walls. Now it was ready to be re-opened for business, much to the delight of Thaddeus Plotz. And Rem still refused to leave the confines of Dot's huge walk-in closet. It was starting to drive the female Warner absolutely crazy.

"Arggh! Is she ever gonna come out?!" she cried. "I need to do inventory..."

Yakko knew it wasn't healthy for Rem to keep on doing that, but he also thought that maybe she wasn't quite done venting. Then again, she might never come out. Before the issue could go any further, the telephone rang.

"I'LL GET IT!" the Warner trio cried out in unison.

After a few minutes of playfully tackling each other, Yakko finally answered the phone.

"Y'ello?" he greeted cheerfully. Then he made a face when he heard who it was. "Oh hey there, Scratchy. Yes, she's still locked in Dot's closet. Okay we'll be right there."

He put down the phone and turned to his younger siblings.

"Scratchy would like to see us in his office." Yakko told them.

"Odd." Dot said, pulling out her little black book. "We don't have an appointment with list for today."

"I know, but Otto says it's important. Come, siblings."

They started out the Tower but Wakko made a pause and scampered towards Dot's closet and knocked on the door.

"Rem?" he called out softly. "We're going to Dr. Scratchansniff's. Maybe you want to come with us?"

Both Dot and Yakko also pause to see if Rem might finally emerge from the closet. There was only silence. The same silence that was there before. Wakko made a face like he was dejected and his siblings kind of shared the same emotion.

"Well, we'll be back in a few, okay?" the middle Warner called out again.

After that, they all set off to the Studio Psychiatrist Building.

xxxxxxx

Since the incident and after assisting the studio clean up, Dr. Scratchansniff had surrounded himself with stacks upon stacks of books on various cases of disorders and mental defects. When the Warner trio arrived into his office, they had to smirk at this a little.

"Doing homework, Scratchy?" Yakko cracked.

The p-sychiatrist poked his head out from the mountain of books and saw that the three youngsters had come.

"Oh, zere you are." Scratchansniff said while climbing out of his crowded work space. "I have been doing zome research."

"No kiddin'?" Dot quipped.

"Und I zink Rem eez zuffering from more zan just Post Trumatic Ztress Disorder."

The doctor was pacing around when he looked up and saw the Warners sitting on the floor and looking incredibly bored. Yakko was toying with a paddle ball, Dot was filing her nails, and Wakko was reading a scary comic book.

"English please, Scratchy." Yakko sighed.

Dr. Scratchansniff let out a frustrated sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Eet means zat Rem really needs a lot of help." he said. "Has she ever mentioned her familiee at all?"

The Warners looked at each other.

"...ehhhh, not really." Yakko said while scratching his head. "Other than telling us multiple times that she's an orphan."

"But she did mention a grandma." Dot pointed out. "She said that she was named after her."

"Vhat about her brutter?" the therapist asked.

Then the trio gave each other very confused glances.

"Brother?" they said together.

"Zhe never mentioned her brutter?" Scratchansniff inquired in surprise.

"Not to us." Yakko replied. "Heck, I didn't even know she had one."

"I sure am surprised." Wakko remarked, while scratching the top of his head.

"Who knew, huh?" Dot added.

"Hmmm, zat's vhat concerns me. Rem zeems to keep everything to herself, und zat's not exactly healthy, ja?"

Yakko then went deep into thought. While he personally thought-in respect to Rem-that they shouldn't be butting into her personal business, Dr. Scratchansniff had a very good point. Especially if she was also shutting out her emotions.

"So what you're saying, is that we need to get Rem to be a little more outgoing?" Dot said.

"Ja." Scratchansniff nodded. "Und zimultaniously figure out vhat made her as zhe eez."

The Warners looked at each other again. The task ahead of them was not going to be easy. In fact, it would be their most complex challenge yet, aside from getting rid of a certain annoying orange dinosaur. But if meant getting Rem to smile and laugh their jokes the way other people were meant to, it was freaking worth it. Another fact to consider was that if things remained as they were, it could get a lot worse. A heck of a lot worse.

"WE'LL DO IT!" the Warners cried in unison and in a determined tone.

"Eh, gud...gud." the p-sychaitrist muttered while rubbing his ears from the loudness of his patients' voices.

"So Otto," Yakko began, putting an arm around the studio shrink's shoulders. "why don't we start by sharing your notes with us?"

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, back at the Water Tower, it had become silent as the grave since the Warners had left.

Then, the huge shield-shaped door slowly opened...

...and a foot stepped out onto the red railed catwalk and into the sunlight.

* * *

**AN: The eagle has landed. Sort of :P Anyway, tune in next time for Act IV!**

**-Song List-**

**Within Temptation**

**-Blue Eyes**

**-Stairway to the Skies**

**Evanescense**

**-The Change**

**-New Way to Bleed**

**xx**

**-Life on Earth (Band of Horses)**


	22. Act IV Prelude

***Act IV***

_The dream began again. He was running through the familiar crumbling courtyard, almost out of breath. But he wasn't alone this time. His two younger charges were there with him, also running at their top speed and breathless. They rushed up the tower and into the hallway where the walls were covered with creeping thorn plants that blossomed white roses. The iron clad door was covered in the same way, except the roses blossoming there were blue. They unlatched the door in a haste and opened it._

_And then there was blackness..._

* * *

**AN: By the way, if any of you are interested, I have new artwork for this story on my deviantART account. There's a link to it on my profile. Search for the 'Animaniacs Stuff' folder in my gallery.**


	23. Picking Up the Pieces

***Chapter 1: Picking Up the Pieces***

The Warners had stayed at least 20 minutes in Dr. Scratchansniff's office with the P-sychiatrist himself, going over what they already knew about Rem and what her reluctance to share anything about herself might imply. Finally, Scratchansniff ordered the trio back to their Tower to keep on Rem and wait until she was better and ready to come out of her _hiding place_. As the Warners Three walked back to the Water Tower, they were animated in conversion about what they learned from the Studio shrink.

"Man...that's so shocking." Wakko rasped. "Who knew Rem had an older brother?!"

"You an' me both." Yakko sighed, with his hands in his slack pockets.

"I wonder what _he_ was like..." Dot mused.

"So do I." Yakko added thoughtfully. "I noticed Rem's got a thing against older siblings and frankly, I'd like to know why."

Then, as they turned a corner, they came to halt. The large shield-shaped door of the Water Tower was left partly open. Which meant only one thing. That Rem had finally emerged from 48 hours of seclusion and was now somewhere on the lot. But before the Warners would even conceive the thought of looking for her, they heard the sound of cello playing.

It was loud and harsh.

(_Now Playing: Harmagedden by Apocalyptica)_

Automatically, the Warners knew where she had gone. They detoured to the Music Building and found Rem right where they thought she'd be. As Rem played, the Warners squinted at the forte and the pressure she put on those strings. It was clear sign that Rem was still upset. With sympathetic frowns, Yakko, Wakko, and Dot gathered around her.

_(End Music)_

"Hey, you okay?" Wakko asked softly.

"I'm fine..." Rem replied, sort of snapping at him and pausing from playing.

"No you're not." Yakko said in a stern voice and folding his arms. "I can tell by the way you're...kinda beating up that cello."

"I said I'm fine!" Rem exclaimed in an irritated tone.

When she began on the instrument again, one of the strings snapped and broke, cutting her finger and making her drop the bow.

"OW! Dammit!" she cried out in pain and frustration.

There was a silence while Rem slightly sucked on her wounded finger and the Warners wanting to shake their heads at her. She was definitely still very upset, but she refused to admit it. Yakko took the cello away from her as Wakko and Dot gently lifted her to her feet.

"Come on, Rem." Dot said. "Let's go out for a walk."

"...fine, I guess." Rem muttered.

XXXXXXX

The four went off to the park where Rem and Dot had spent the afternoon previously. There other three made sure that Rem didn't fall behind or get too far ahead as they trekked along the grassy path. Rem kept her eyes glued to her feet the whole way and completely silent. A large part of her wanted to cease to exist. This had to have been the worst thing that ever happened to her. Another thing tormenting her was the fact that nobody was handing her ass to her. Normally, somebody would be by now and yet she was still waiting for it. All the while, Yakko was observing Rem's every move and behavior.

_Obviously, she's never been handled with care before..._

Finally they came to halt, knocking Rem out of her thoughts. The three Warners sat around a tree in cross-legged positions and attained a zany-type of a meditative state. Rem made a confused expression.

"Ooookaaay..." she stammered.

"Sit down, Rem." Dot instructed without breaking from her stance.

With hesitation, Rem let out a sigh and did as she was told.

"Sooo...what are we doing?" she asked.

"Getting in touch with our inner being." Dot told her.

"Okay. Why?"

"We think it might help you." Wakko replied.

Then Rem realized that they were meditating in order to get her to calm down. How ironic. Using her own method of the soothing of the mind. She heaved a heavy sigh and sat down beside Wakko. A few minutes passed as the sounds of nature calmed the raging and frantic thinking in her brain.

"How do ya feel, Rem?" Dot asked.

"...awful." Rem muttered. "I feel like punching something."

"Hmmmm, then perhaps a little bit of yoga might be in order?" Yakko mused pointedly.

"I've done yoga before..."

"Good. Then you should have no problem with it." Dot added.

The teen let out another heavy sigh.

"There's a lot more ways to vent than rubbing cello strings to death, Rem." Yakko said.

Rem made a face.

"Yeah...I know..."

xxxxxxx

20 minutes after finding her center again, Rem followed the Warners back to the Water Tower. Dot was quite anxious to regain access to her walk-in closet so she could her _neglected_ inventory. Yakko and Wakko on the other hand, had other ideas.

"Rem, can you give me your bag for a sec?" Yakko asked.

Rem threw him a confused expression.

"What for?" she asked in reply.

"Just to make sure you don't have any other objects sharper than a crayon in there." the elder Warner explained.

Rem made another face before simply turning around, grabbing ahold of her backpack and handing it to him.

"Knock yourself out." she said with a shrug.

"Thank you." Yakko replied with a wide grin.

He opened the front smaller pocket of the bag and began to rummage around in it.

"Let's see...gum, chap stick, pocket-sized tissues..." the toon mused. Then he pulled out a miniature katanna which was completely black with silver boarders, a small chain, and red and blue rhinestones. Yakko made a somewhat exasperated and disapproving face. "Rem.. what the HECK is this?!"

"It's just a letter opener!" Rem exclaimed with a slightly agitated look on her face. "I got it a convention a while ago!"

"Uh-huh, sure. Wakko bag this."

"Right." the middle Warner nodded, taking a plastic bag out of his hammer space and placing the 2 inch sword inside it.

Rem made a little huff and folded her arms.

_...whatever.._

Next, Yakko moved on and opened the main zipper of the bag where all her books were kept. He pulled out Rem's favorite book.

"You read _Dante_?" he asked distastefully.

"Hey, I _like_ Dante." Rem replied in a very direct tone. "He's freaking awesome."

"And we've got a binder, a notebook...World History study guide?"

"Yeah well, finals were coming up so..."

"Finals?" Wakko asked with a confused look.

"End of the year testing where you're expected to remember every freaking thing about the damn course..."

While Rem was ranting to his younger brother, Dot rejoined them after going through her closet and Yakko pulled out a torn envelope from Rem's bag. Now he saw why she had the so-called 'letter opener' to begin with.

"Oh look." he said with a sing-song tone. "It's Rem's report card."

"Hey wait a minute." Dot said sternly while placing her fists at her hips. "Isn't that supposed to be for your parents and, or guardians to look at?"

"Well, at that point I didn't have any of those..." Rem muttered while Yakko unfolded the letter.

"So, you were a freshman at Palm Springs High School, huh?" Yakko mused as he read the yellow-colored paper.

"Did you get your head flushed down the toilet by the seniors and jocks?" Wakko asked in earnest.

"Uh, hell no, because if anyone did, they'd get their ass kicked." Rem slightly hissed.

"Let's see...you got a B in World History." Yakko said. "An A in M&A...M&A?"

"Music and Art." Rem specified. "It's an hour class where you spend 30 minutes learning about music and rest on art."

"Hmmm, that's interestin'. A D in Earth Science, another B in P.E., an F in Algebra and a C in English."

Yakko's expression turned sour as he read the report as Rem started to fume.

"Honestly, I don't know how the heck I got a flipping C in that class because all we ever did was watch movies."

"What kind movies?" Wakko asked in interest. "Scary movies?"

"Tch, hardly." Rem told him. "It was mostly documentaries."

"Rem, this stinks." Yakko scolded. "You've got bad marks on all the important stuff."

"IMPORTANT MY ASS!" the teen exclaimed. "WHEN THE _HELL_ ARE YOU GOING TO USE ALGEBRA IN REAL LIFE?!"

"It's still good to learn it. It's food for your brain."

"Yeah right..."

As Rem muttered angrily to herself, Yakko pulled out the last remaining item in her bag.

"What's this?" he asked with a blank expression.

It was a dark green leather book that appeared to be severely weather-beaten. When Dot saw it, she immediately became agitated.

"I know what that is!" she cried. "You put that down this instant, mister!"

She swiped the book out of her older brother's hands as Wakko went over to her.

"What is it?" the red-capped Warner asked.

"Isn't it _obvious_?!" Dot replied in a snooty voice. "It's Rem's diary."

Then a devious grin came over Wakko's face.

"Diary?!"

He snatched the book out of his sister's hands and zipped across the Tower so he could find a safe and secure place to read it. Dot meanwhile was NOT happy.

"WAKKO WARNER YOU COME BACK HERE WITH THAT, RIGHT NOW!" she shouted.

"He can't read it anyway." Rem interjected. "It's all coded."

"Coded?" Yakko and Dot asked in unison.

"Yeah. I found this book on Wizardology and it had this code in it. I thought it was kinda cool so I copied the key. Unfortunately, I lost it."

"Hmmm...codes." Dot mused. "Clever."

"If you lost the key, why not copy another one?" Yakko asked.

"Because the next time I went to the library to use it, it was gone and it's been gone ever since." Rem explained. "So I assumed that for whatever reason, the library staff got rid of it, or sold it."

Wakko came walking back to them with a disappointed look on his face.

"Hey, this diary has no words in it." he complained. "It just has funny pictures."

"That's because Rem coded it. Jerk." Dot growled as she grabbed the book from her brother.

"I want to clarify something here." Rem interjected again. "That's _not_ a diary. I don't keep those."

"Then what is it?" Yakko asked.

"It's just something I used to write in. All it is, is a brunch lyrics to some songs and a quote from a book."

"Which book?"

Rem opened her mouth to say something but then she made a blank face.

"You know I don't remember." the teen said. "All the girls at the high school like it, though."

"Did _you_?" Yakko playfully asked.

"What is this, a million freaking questions?!"

"Well..didja?!"

"...a little bit."

XXXXXXX

The next day and at Yakko's insistence, Rem walked over to the Studio Psychiatrist building. Dr. Scratchansniff couldn't be happier to see her. She followed him all the way to his office where the teen took her place on the therapy couch. Scratchansniff was every bit as anxious to begin the session.

"I'm glad you've to zee me, Rem." he said.

"Sure, whatever." Rem replied with a slight shrug.

"Zo, how are you feeling now?"

Now that surprisingly wasn't a hard question.

"Still awful..." the teen muttered. "I still can't remember what happened."

"How zo?" the studio shrink asked with interest.

"Well, it's like a huge blank. Where you have the before and after, but not during."

"Und that upsets you?"

"Duh! I mean, how does that happen? I see it happen on T.V. and even though I know it's just acting I still think the whole notion is totally bullshit. And what if it happens again? What then?!"

While Rem was ranting, Scratchansniff just sat in his chair and quietly listened. This was actually a good break through. Maybe not quite the one he was looking for, but still at least now she was being open. And not pushing him aside and covering up her true feelings.

* * *

**AN: Wizardology is actually a real book. You can find a copy at your local Barnes and Noble ;) But the code I'm talking about is in the Wizardology Handbook.**


	24. Further Anaylsis

**AN: Hey everyone! I'm back. Sorry for the long wait, as I got caught up with college and such. Anyway, here's the next chappie! :) Oh and good news for _Animaniacs _and _Tiny Toon Adventure _fans! Warner Bros. Home Video is finally releasing the very last volumes of the two shows on DVD! HUZZAH! _Tiny Toons _on January 8th and _Animaniacs _on February 5th. I for one cannot wait :)**

* * *

**=Chapter 2: Further Analysis=**

Back at the Acme Labs, Brain was just up to his ears in frustration. He didn't find one record of Rem anywhere floating around in cyber space. Not even a birth certificate.

"I don't understand, how there can be absolutely no documentation for one stinking person!" he ranted, tossing a pencil he had in his hand aside.

"Maybe she was born before computers, Brain. Poit." Pinky proposed.

Brain grabbed ahold of Pinky's muzzle in annoyance.

"Pinky, if Rem was born before computers, she'd be an adult by now." Brain grumbled.

"Oh...righff." Pinky replied in a muffled voice.

Brain released his partner's muzzle to which Pinky tenderly rubbed. Then the large-headed mouse went deep into thought.

"Perhaps Frankeninni would have that information." he mused. "Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"

"I think so Brain." Pinky replied. "But I don't think Rem would want to see Dr. Frankeninni anytime soon."

Brain angrily grabbed his dimwitted partner's muzzle again.

"Focus Pinky, focus!" Brain snapped in a low voice. "I meant we should attempt to hack into the doctor's system and see if he has any information on Rem."

"Great idea, Brain! NARF!" Pinky cried. Then he paused. "Oh wait, no, no. Isn't hacking into someone's computer illegal?"

"Not if that person is Dr. Frankeninni..."

XXXXXX

A few weeks later, Rem had been having regular visits with the P-sychaitrist. During these sessions, Dr. Scratchansniff collected more bits and pieces of Rem's inner being and personal life and then sharing them with the Warners. While the zany trio, albeit Wakko, found it somewhat very frustrating with Rem's reserved nature, the doctor was patient. His practice taught him that some things such as this, were not so easily resolved. On the other hand, this was the most interesting case he ever taken on.

After another weekly session, the usual routine was for Wakko to take Rem out for lunch while Scratchansniff discussed his notes with Yakko and Dot. Unfortunately there wasn't much progress gained that day.

"So whaddya got for us, Otto?" Dot asked.

"Vell, don't be deesappointed, but ve didn't too far today." the studio shrink said in a low tone.

"Urrggh! This kid's having us go in circles, for Pete's sake!"

"Does she have _that_ many skeletons in the W.C.?" Yakko asked while scratching his head.

"Vell, jus because ve didn't talk much today, doesn't mean zhe didn't zay anything zat didn't catch my attention." Dr. Scratchansniff said while looking at his notepad and adjusting his glasses.

"Oh really, like what?"

"Vell, from vhat I've been told, Rem seems to have very deesturbing dreams at night."

"Like Richard Simmons in a ballerina dress?"

Scratchansniff suppressed a growl. He kept forgetting how difficult it was to work with the Warners in general.

"Vould you pleeze be zerious?" the P-sychiatrist ranted. "Zome of za dreams as Rem deescribes them revolve around und I quote, 'Me dying...'"

Both Yakko and Dot blinked.

"Oh..well _that's_ cheery." Dot murmured.

"These violent delights have violent ends." Yakko remarked, quoting Shakespeare and suddenly clad in a Franciscan monk robe.

Dr. Scratchansniff shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"_Anywho_, I've been fortunate to persuade Rem to tell me at least one of her dreams und I've taken zee liberty of writing everytheeng zhe told me."

The studio shrink then passed his notepad to Yakko for him and his sister to read. In the notes there was a description of Rem in her old house and finding a stranger inside. Then, according to Rem, the stranger pulled out some sort of weapon and annihilated her. From some weird reason, the two siblings weren't too surprised. But in the long run, this made them ever more concerned about their charge.

"Boy, this is...harsh." Yakko commented.

"I've heard of nightmares where you fall off really tall buildings." Dot added. "But this is a making of a slasher movie."

"_Halloween_?"

"Yup."

"I theenk Rem might have had a deeficult upbringing." the P-sychiatrist said. "Thees tells me zat zhe didn't much of relationship with other members of her familee."

"Or any lack thereof." Yakko said pointedly.

"So what now, Otto?" Dot asked.

"Vell, for now, I theenk ve zhould break from probing her background. At least until Miss Roth feels more comfortable in zharing."

"Hmph, goodness knows how long that'll be." Dot remarked.

"Ehhhhhh, you never know, Dot." Yakko said. "One of these days Rem might just spontaneously sing a tune for us."

XXXXXXX

Elsewhere in Burbank, Rem was staring outside the window of a diner, the very same diner from weeks before, while Wakko had his nose buried in the menu. Rem was feeling unusually more depressed then she had in days. Having your mind probed and unearthing very unpleasant thoughts that were buried for God knows how long wasn't the greatest feeling in the world. It made the teen go on another 'hating jag'. She hated the world, she hated the somewhat loud noises being made in the diner, she hated the fact that she now had to go places unarmed. How the god damn sun wouldn't just disappear for a fucking day. Life.

_If I could just stab myself with that fork, I'd really be complete._

"Hey Rem." Wakko called out. "Wanna split some chili-cheese fries?"

The red-capped Warner had a really goofy and anticipating look on his face along with his big-red tongue hanging out of his mouth. Rem meanwhile just buried her head in her arms.

"I'm really not hungry, Warner." she muttered.

Wakko narrowed his eyes a little and placed his hands on his hips. Then he got ahold of Rem's shoulders and gently pushed her upwards.

"No slouching or elbows on the table missy." he scolded, wagging his fingers as Rem gave him a flustered look.

"Since when do _you_ use table manners?" she questioned.

"Only when it's funny."

"Of course. But I'm still not hungry."

"But you've eaten hardly at all, Rem."

"I don't feel like eating..."

Wakko batted his eye-lids at her to which Rem raised her eyebrow.

"I can't have chili." she said.

Wakko blinked and looked as if Rem just told him the most absurd thing he ever heard.

"Why not?"

"Because it makes me really sick. I can't eat anything with onions in it." Rem explained.

"Because they make you cry?"

"Hardly. I'm allergic to onions. I get the stomach flu every time I eat onions or anything that has onions in it."

Wakko then looked absolutely shocked.

"So..you can't even have onion rings?!" he cried.

"That's...where I discovered the allergy." Rem replied. "I was in bed for about a week if I recall correctly."

Now Wakko looked as if he were about ready to faint. He couldn't possibly fathom a world without chili-fries or onion rings. After feeling her stomach pinch her, Rem got a little irritated.

_Dammit. Now I __**am**__ hungry._

"Actually, I think I'll just have a grilled cheese sandwich." Rem said after slowly picking up a menu. Then she felt her belly pinch again. "And some tomato soup..."

A wide goofy grin appeared on the middle Warner's features. Then he swerved to his right and emitted one sharply loud whistle. Instantly, a waiter came to their table.

"The usual, sir?" he asked flatly.

"That and a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup for her!" Wakko proclaimed.

"Coming right up, sir."

Rem stared after him in a sympathetic way as Wakko quickly put on a napkin as a bib around his neck.

"You know, I pity everyone who has to work here." she said.

"Why?" Wakko asked.

"You must give them a real headache when they lose dishes."

"Oh peshaw! Wanna play tic-tac-toe while we wait?"

"...sure."

XXXXXXX

"I'm in!"

After spending a day or two trying to get past Dr. Frankeninni's security measures, Brain had finally busted into his system. It had everything from plans to designs.

"Well, well." the enlarged craniumed mouse mused. "Frankeninni certainly was a busy man."

"Oh right. He had all those creepy looking kids didn't he? NARF." Pinky said.

"Those weren't children, Pinky. They were artificial toons."

"Oh. Well, they certainly wouldn't make a very good kid's show either."

As Brain went through the files, his eyes widened in disbelief and surprise.

"Pinky, look at this." he said, pointing to the computer screen. "Do you see how many units of artificial toon clones he had?! Close to a million!"

"ZORT! That's a very big number, Brain." Pinky replied.

"Indeed. Had Frankeninni created any more, he would have just enough to cover the entire globe."

"Then it's a good thing that Rem went crazy and blew up his factory isn't it?"

"Perhaps. With his escape, the doctor can always find a means to rebuild."

_But the real question is, how was Rem able to rebel and not the others?_

Brain did a little more detective work through the insane scientist's network. Then he found the files covering the machine that made Rem's presence in the Toon World possible.

"Interesting." Brain mused.

"What's that, Brain?" Pinky asked while scratching his head.

"It appears to be the contraption which the doctor used to create his artificial toons."

"Ooooo, that thing looks like a giant pie machine. Oh, and I just love pie! NARF!"

In a spat of spontaneous frustration, Brain grabbed ahold of Pinky's muzzle.

"Quiet Pinky, or I shall have to hurt you." the shorter mouse threatened.

He released his partner's muzzle which snapped back and wobbled like rubber. Brain continued to type away on the keyboard, using a giant pencil. After some immense searching through what seemed to be infinity of files, he found what he was searching for to begin with. Or at least part of it.

"Pinky, look at this." Brain said. "It seems that this machine is also able to cipher into alternate worlds."

"Kinda like the Twilight Zone huh, Brain. Or maybe Doctor Who." Pinky remarked.

"Perhaps. But this is probably how Rem came to be here in the first place."

Being displayed on the screen was a map and an enlarged view of Southern California with the city of Palm Springs highlighted.

XXXXXXX

Back at the diner, Rem was slowly munching on her sandwich after occasionally dipping it in the tomato soup she also requested while Wakko practically devoured his lunch in seconds. He next turned his attention on his soda pop. As he sucked on the beverage down through the straw like a vacuum cleaner, his older brother and younger sister came into the diner and to the table where the middle Warner and Rem were seated.

"Got room for two more?" Yakko asked.

"Sure!" Wakko replied, before helping Dot into the booth seat beside him.

Yakko slid quietly and fluidly into the seat next to Rem with a grin on his face and his hands folded neatly on the surface of the table. Rem meanwhile, was slouched in her seat while dipping her sandwich into the soup again.

"Hi." Yakko greeted simply, retaining his grin and attempting to get a rise out of the teen.

"'Sup?" Rem muttered back.

"You know, you're gonna get soup on your clothes if you sit like that."

"Yeah..."

Rem let out a really heavy sigh and sat further back in her seat leaving behind a half empty bowl of soup.

"You gonna finish that?" Wakko asked.

"Nah. You can have the rest if you want." Rem murmured.

Instantly, the red-capped Warner grabbed a hold of the bowl and slurped down the remaining tomato soup.

"You know, I noticed you don't eat too much." Yakko commented.

"I don't have much of an appetite." Rem answered wryly. "Unlike your brother over there, who likes to devour practically everything in sight. Including friggin' rocks."

"That's our lil' garbage disposal."

The teen rolled her eyes.

_Whatever. It's still freaking weird..._


	25. Slappy Knows Best Part 2

***Chapter 3: Slappy Knows Best Part 2***

One bright and cheery mid-morning in the Water Tower, Yakko, Wakko, Dot, and Rem, were seated on the couch and watching an old black and white 50s horror movie. In Wakko's lap was a huge tub of popcorn in which he ate by the handfuls. Rem didn't eat any because she thought there was way too much butter in it. She did however, had a bottle of pomegranate juice on the coffee table. Speaking of whom, Rem was getting rather bored of the movie they were viewing.

"This is stupid. Why the hell are we watching this for?!" she ranted.

"Because it's scary." Wakko droned as he stuffed another handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I find Lon Chaney Sr. a lot more scarier than this. And besides the special effects are friggin' cheap. I've seen better in _Gojira_."

"Go-who?" Dot asked blankly.

"The Japanese version of Godzilla."

"Are you seriously comparing Godzilla to this?" Yakko jokingly and sarcastically asked.

"The first one in its original form was great. The rest before the Heisei series were crap. Especially when the Americans got people who can't act worth shit to dub them." Rem yammered.

"And I'm guessing that you don't like Perry Mason."

"Not really. I am not a Raymond Burr fan."

"Uh-huh."

The four of them continued to watch the television set until Rem finally had enough of watching the cheesy monster movie.

"Alright, I'm gone." she said, hopping off the couch.

"Where you goin'?" Wakko asked.

"To do something more constructive with my spare time."

"Such as?" Yakko and Dot asked in unison and raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno. Perhaps reading."

She went to her corner and out her _Devine Comedy_ and sat in a cross-legged on her bed. While Wakko merely shrugged and returned his attention to the movie, Yakko and Dot lowly stared at her like she took the fun out of living.

"Say Rem, anything interesting going on in the Wonderful World of Dante?" Yakko sarcastically called out.

"Hmmmm, the narrator just entered the eighth circle of Hell. Festive." Rem replied with the same level of sarcasm.

Yakko and Dot looked at each other. Then the elder Warner grinned and folded his arms in the back of his head and crossing his legs while leaning back on the couch.

"Ehhhhhhh, I guess that works." he said.

XXXXXXX

Much later that day, when the telephone rang and Rem ended up having to answer it because the Warners were too busy tackling each other for it, Slappy Squirrel requested the teen's presence at her tree house. This time, Yakko let her go by herself provided that she came straight back to the Water Tower and nowhere else without him or any of his other siblings. In actuality, Rem rathered that at least one of the Warners was with her right now. She felt really awkward about going to Slappy's house especially after the teen nearly killed her nephew weeks earlier. Rem wasn't really thinking right now. Her mind was totally blank. She finally came to the tree house and knocked.

"...'Sup?"

"Nice to see ya, little missy." Slappy greeted. "Step right inside if you please."

_Ooohhh shit. Now I'm in for it. But then again, it's not like it wasn't expected._

Rem swallowed her pride and a little hard and followed the elder toon into her house. She saw Skippy in his usual spot in front of the T.V. set looking as cheerful as ever. He even waved hello to her so maybe Rem wasn't totally unforgiving. The pair went into the kitchen and to Rem's surprise, her katanna was on the kitchen table.

"Whoa, wait a minute." she stammered. "Are you...are you giving her back to me?"

"Her? What is this, your BFF?" Slappy sarcastically asked.

"Well..sort of. Wait, we're getting off point here."

"Young lady, this is a cartoon. There ain't no need to be on point."

"Yeah I've noticed..."

"Anyway, you can have your _toy_ back, sure."

"But there's a catch, isn't there?"

"Einstein would love this kid."

"I beg to differ."

"The catch is that you don't use it at all."

"I get it."

Although Rem was fine with this condition, she secretly hated going places unarmed. However, as they say, there's 1001 uses for a katanna and some of them were non fatal.

"Can I just see he...it for a sec?" Rem asked.

"Eh, why not?" Slappy replied.

That surprise Rem even more. Then she saw why the squirrel wasn't so concerned with her seeing her blade. A clear, transparent plastic and rubber guard was placed the edge of the sword.

"That's so you don't get any bright ideas, there." Slappy explained.

"You...polished it?" Rem asked.

"Yup."

"What kind of polish?"

"Well, let's see here...Acme Chaji oil."

Rem watched Slappy go through her purse and pull out a jar of metal polish.

"Nice." the teen murmured.

"So, I don't suppose there's anything you'd like to share with me." Slappy said with her chin in her hand.

Rem was quiet and looked down on the pattern of the table cloth.

"More of the silent treatment huh?" the squirrel asked matter-of-factly.

"It's not that. I've got my head probed enough as it is." Rem groaned.

She dropped her head on the table with a low thud and a whine.

"So you've got Scratchansniff working on ya, then?" the squirrel said. "That's good news."

"_Good news_?! He and my three housemates are bringing up stuff that I went through so much effort to block out and have buried for a freaking eternity. And other stuff I don't even _want_ to recall. And please for the love of God don't ask me why."

"Have you ever thought that maybe bottling all those bad vibes up is what got you to snap in the first place?"

"Hell if I know..."

_And I still can't remember much of it._

"What about your folks, kid? I'm sure they would've done the same thing we are."

"Ha, yeah right! First of all, they're both dead and even when they were still around, they completely ignored me since birth. And Grams could only do so much."

"Grams? You mean your grandma?"

There was a silence as Rem nodded. Frankly Slappy was a bit surprised that she wouldn't have to contemplate beating anything out of the teen.

"Fact of the matter is," Rem continued in a sullen voice. "nobody in my family apart from her, really gave a crap about me. And that's all there is to it."

That sort of crossed a line with Slappy.

"I find that kinda hard to believe, kid." she said sternly with a raised eyebrow. "Even I got family troubles but they ain't that bad."

"You haven't met mine. And it's like I said, the only one I could really relate to was Grams, but she could only do so much to help."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Terminal illness that's why."

Rem kept her head down on the table while Slappy scratched her chin. Honestly she didn't know what to make of this. Part of her thought that Rem could possibly be making a sob story. But then again, it wasn't in Rem's nature to do such things especially with the amount of cynicism in her voice.

"So why is all that such a big secret?" Slappy asked.

"It shouldn't be now I guess." Rem sighed. "It's just I don't like bringing it up."

"Look kid, we all got our skeletons in the water closet, right?"

"I suppose..."

"Sometimes it's just better to let 'em out rather than keeping them in."

"If you say so."

_But some things are better left unsaid._

"And for cryin' out loud start smilin'. Or else I'm gonna have to break out my old Jack Benny records."

"You listen to _those_?"

"You darn right I do. Vintage classics."

Rem let out another sigh. Now she had a fourth person on her back to pressure her into cracking one.

XXXXXXX

As Rem returned to the Warner Bros. lot, the grey clouds above finally gathered together and started to lightly pour on the teen and the city of Burbank. Oddly enough, the rain drops felt a little warm.

_This is...lovely. Really lovely._

She went past the front gate and allowed herself to get drenched by the celestial water. To her, it was one of the greatest feelings in the world. Ralph the Guard noticed her and poked his head out of his security booth.

"Duuuuh, you needs an umbrella, Miss Roths?" he asked.

"No thanks, dude. I'm good." Rem replied, walking past him.

Then, as she approached the Water Tower, the teen's ears twitched to the sound of distant rumbling of thunder. Further raising Rem's spirits little by little.

_Dude, I'm finally getting a decent T-storm. This is freaking awesome!_

Meanwhile in the Water Tower, the Warner trio, instead of doing their usual zany activities, they waited patiently for Rem to come home. Yakko was leaned against a wall, fiddling around with his paddle-ball, Dot was sitting on the round kitchen table and reading celebrity magazines, particularly ones with Mel Gibson on the front cover, and Wakko hanging upside down on the couch watching the television set.

"Do you know if Rem's back yet?" Dot asked as she flipped through the pages of the magazine she was reading.

"Eehhhhhh, I better go check." Yakko replied, putting his paddle ball in his hammer space.

He walked across the Tower and opened the front door. Because of the rain, the elder Warner only poked his head out to avoid getting water inside. Then his eyes caught something at the base of the Tower.

_What the heck?_

Down all the way at the bottom, was Rem, leaning against one of the Tower legs and getting thoroughly drenched by the rain. Yakko climbed down the latter while carrying an umbrella in one hand.

"Ehhhh, call me crazy, but why the heck are you out here getting all wet?" Yakko asked.

"I'm enjoying myself." Rem answered flatly. "Leave me alone."

"And this is your idea of a good time?"

"Yup. I think it's awesome."

"I see."

Then the toon saw that Rem had her katanna in a new and more appropriate holder around her shoulder.

"Would you also mind tellin' me how you got _that_ back?" Yakko asked with a fist on his hip and with a surprising amount of seriousness in his voice.

"Slappy gave it back." Rem simply replied. "I still can't use it anyway, because she put a guard on it."

Yakko then brought his hand to his chin.

"Hmmm, clever." he said with a grin returning to his features.

"HEY, YOU TWO!"

Both Rem and Yakko looked up to see Dot peering out of the Tower.

"Are you guys gonna stand out there in the rain and chit-chat all day?!" she ranted.

"Relax, we're comin' up!" Yakko called back. Then he turned to Rem. "Well? Lady's first."

He stood aside, clearing the path between the ladder and the teen. Rem frowned a little, as her time peacefully meditating under her favorite kind of weather was about to be cut short.

"I hate you." she ranted as she walked past the elder Warner who merely grinned wider.

"Uh-huh. I know." he quipped before following her up the Tower.

As soon as they were both inside, Dot threw a fit when she saw a soaked Rem.

"You put on some dry clothes this instant, young lady!" she demanded.

I'm going..." Rem mumbled.

_Jesus, she sounds like Grams..._

* * *

**AN: Jack Benny btw, was a comedian back in the day and had his own radio show that spawned 30 years and then his own tv show in the 50s when television became popular. Stay tuned because next time it's the return of a familiar face...**


	26. The Con Returns

**AN: Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the wait. Here's da next one. Enjoy! **

* * *

***Chapter 4: The Con Returns***

Elsewhere in Los Angeles, in a used car lot, Sakko Warner was there promoting all the _great deals_ and sales as only Sakko could. In the months following his previous _visit_ with his cousins, the con artist Warner was hired by the dealership as a pitchman. Day by day, he attempted to convince potential buyers to purchase a hand-me-down vehicle.

"Step right up, folks!" Sakko proclaimed. "And buy a new used car today! Only $399.99!"

But as he tried to sell himself and the product, people passed him by uninterested and as if he didn't exist.

"Anyone?" Sakko asked. "We'll throw in a complimentary car tree freshener!"

Still, citizens passed along ignoring him.

"Rats!" Sakko cursed as he threw down his straw hat. "Some of these folks have got to get their wheels somehow."

Then the owner of the dealership came out of his office and approached the burgundy suited Warner.

"Well Mr. Warber..." the owner said.

"Er, that's _Warner_ sir." Sakko corrected.

"Yeah sure whatever. Anyway, we're gonna close for the day."

Sakko gave a turned off look at his employer as the portly man lit his cigar.

"What for?" Sakko questioned. "Why, it's barely noon!"

"There's a lousy convention going on down the street." the owner explained, blowing smoke into the air and making Sakko cough. "It's gonna tie up traffic for miles."

"Uh, excuse me sir, don'tcha think that with all them tourists, you'd get more business that way?"

"You think too much, Warler."

"_Warner_, sir."

"Sure, whatever. See ya Monday."

With that, the cigar chomping man left while exhaling more smoke into the atmosphere and causing poor Sakko to nearly cough his lungs out.

_It's a gosh darn wonder how that goob stays in business..._

With nothing else to do for the day, the grey-furred Warner picked up his blue bag of confetti and went on his way.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, also touring the streets of LA, was the Warner gang.

"So why are we in Los Angeles again?" Rem asked.

"Must you question everything we do?" Yakko asked in reply with a calm grin on his face.

"Oh ye of little faith?" Wakko added, his expression nearly matching that of his older brother.

"Excuse my curiosity of trying to figure out why the hell we're in one of the most crime-riddled cities in the States."

Wakko then dug into the turtleneck collar of his shirt and pulled out a large flyer. He next handed it to Rem.

"A _Star Trek_ convention? Freaking seriously?" she ranted in disbelief.

"We're gonna see if Big Fat Scotty lost any weight." Yakko quipped.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on that. From what I've seen he was only weightless during the original show."

"You don't like _Star Trek_, Rem?" Dot asked.

"I only really watched _Next Generation_." Rem told her. "Except for the movies, I've never really seen the original series."

All three of the Warners stopped dead in their tracks.

"WHAT?" they said in unison. "ARE YOU KIDDING?!"

"Nope." Rem replied smoothly. "Jean-Luc Picard was a far better captain than Kirk."

"Oh Rem, you poor misinformed child." Yakko sighed, shaking his head.

They continued on their way to the convention center. Then as they crossed the street, they were spotted by a familiar face. Sakko was coming down the same direction through the street.

_Hey, it's the cuzes! And the lovely Rem. I wonder what they're up to..._

XXXXXXX

The small group of four entered the building where they found it to be absolutely crowded. Many of the people there were cosplaying.

"God-damn, this place is packed." Rem observed. "Never saw so many nerds on place."

"You never know, Rem. You might make some new friends here." Yakko jokingly quirked.

"Oh sure, like how the Federation befriended the Klingons? Yeah, we both know how _easy_ that was." Rem sarcastically replied.

"I SEE HIM! IT'S BIG FAT SCOTTY!" Wakko exclaimed.

The middle Warner pointed towards a booth where a few actors were signing autographs. Then the trio began revving up their feet at high toon speed, only to have them simply walk towards the booth. Rem stared after them as they left.

"Yeah, I think I'll just stay here and look at the movie posters." she muttered in a bored tone.

"Howdy, Rem!"

The teen turned around and her face sort of fell. Standing before her was Sakko Warner. Not that Rem was unhappy that he was there, just another pain in the neck. Maybe.

"Oh it's you." she said casually.

"Heh, heh. I'm happy you remember me." Sakko chuckled with a slight blush on his face.

"So where'd you run off to?"

"Run off to...?"

"Yeah, we were at that prison museum in Yuma, and then you disappeared? Hello?"

_I swear to God if __**this **__Warner has a bad memory lapse too, I'm gonna freak..._

"Oh yes, heh, heh, heh." Sakko nervously snickered. "I uh, regret leaving but I'm a willin' to make it up to ya."

"Nah it's okay. I've had enough sympathy to last me a freaking lifetime." Rem muttered.

"Heh, heh, heh. Fiery as always, Miss Rem."

"So, are you here for the U.S.S Federation get-together too?"

"Oh, uh well no. I've been uh, doing some things around here. Nothing real important, you understand."

Rem rolled her eyes. Just two minutes and already she was trying to contemplate ways to get rid of him. He was considerably different than his cousins, but just as annoying. On the other side, Sakko had noticed something different about her. She seemed to be in much 'darker' spirits than when he had met her previously.

"Say Rem, as long as we're here, you wanna look at them Klingon stuff?" Sakko asked, trying to get the teen to cheer up a bit.

"Sure, why not." Rem sighed.

_I've got nothing else to do..._

"Great!"

The toon took her hand and like a gentlemen, led her towards the other side of the building. Soon after, the Warner trio came back to the spot in which they left Rem, only to discover that she was no longer there.

"Hey, where'd Rem go?" Dot asked, looking around.

"Maybe she went to the poster gallery." Wakko suggested.

Yakko put on a slight frown.

_She better be at the poster gallery..._

"Wait a minute...Yakko, do you smell that?" Dot suddenly said.

The elder Warner sniffed the air a little. There was a lingering scent of a cheap hay and leather-scented cologne. A disheartening expression came over his features.

"Ehhhh, it looks like we've got another _Warner_ in our midst, sibs." Yakko droned.

"Sakko." the trio said distastefully in unison.

XXXXXXX

Sakko was having a devil of a time going around the merchandise booth selling _Star Trek_ paraphernalia. Rem...not so much. She had never been so bored in her life, listening to Sakko's pompous chatter. Hanging out with the Warner trio seemed more worthwhile.

"Say Rem, ever see that 5th movie?" Sakko asked, drumming up a conversation.

"A little bit." Rem lowly replied. "I read it was terrible."

"Ya darn right it was terrible! Lemme tell ya, I don't know who the heck approved the script for that gig. He shoulda been thrown off the studio lot."

Rem quietly listened. Guy sure could work up a rant.

"Well, I guess it wasn't bad enough to effectively end the franchise." she said matter-of-factly.

Then the pair came to an area where a large LCD screen was showing an episode of the television show. The captain and the commander were fighting each other with large curved metal staffs.

"Ahhh, I remember this one." Sakko smoothly recalled. "Funny what some people do for love, eh Rem?"

Red and pink hearts came floating out of the grey-furred Warner's head as he swooned over the teen. Rem however was completely blind and ignorant to his advances and wore a no-nonsense expression.

"Romance is for the weak-minded." she said with a slight hint of venom in her voice.

She turned to walk away and Sakko scrambled to catch up with her.

"Hey, hold on there, little lady." he rasped. "These legs ain't what they used to be."

"So I noticed." Rem murmured.

"Say Rem, why don't we go to the cafeteria here? My treat."

"I'm not really hungry..."

Sakko took Rem's hand.

"Aww, come on now. You could use some-oof!"

As the burgundy coated toon started to lead Rem towards the opposite direction, he bumped into something. Or someone. It was Yakko, standing there with his arms folded and an annoyed look on his face. Wakko and Dot were a few centimeters behind him and imitating their brother almost flawlessly.

"Consider the lunch date canceled." Yakko said in a slightly irritated tone.

"Well ~uh, heh, heh~ howdy there, cousin Yakko." Sakko stammered nervously. "Fancy meetin' you here."

"Flattery will getcha nowhere, Sakko." Dot said in a monotone voice.

"I was wondering what took you guys so long." Rem mused. "Didja find Big Fat Scotty by any chance?"

Wakko instantly put on a goofy grin and pulled out a huge autograph book out from his hammer-space.

"Yup, we did." he quipped.

"Ehhh, hold that thought, Wakko." Yakko told his younger brother with his voice still sounding a bit stern. "So Sakko, you here in LA to play telemarketer?"

"No, sir. I got me an honest job." Sakko replied in a dignified voice.

"I see..."

"Oh come on now, I'm only showing Miss Rem around."

"Well I did forget to mention that I'm sort of _grounded_." Rem commented flatly.

Then Sakko gave a surprised look at the teen like it was practically impossible for her to do any wrong.

"Why? Whadja do?" the grey-furred Warner asked in bewilderment.

"Ehhhh, we'll fill you in later." Yakko interjected, getting in front of Rem and pushing her away. "So you got an _honest_ job huh? Care to elaborate on that?"

Sakko then made an anxious look and gave a nervous laugh.

"Well ~heh, heh~ that ain't important right now." Sakko stammered. "What's important is that we're all together again!"

The burgundy coated Warner stretched out his cartoony arms and gathered his cousins and Rem in them.

"Yeah, family reunions are _so wonderful_." Dot muttered sarcastically.

"Uh, excuse me children."

The group of five were interrupted by a security guard who noticed them.

"I don't recall seeing you kids at the registration. Would you mind showing me your tickets please?" he asked in a stern voice.

"Hold on sweetie, we're in a little bit of a family meeting." Dot said in a gentle and musical voice while pinching the guard's cheek.

Rem turned to Yakko with a suspicious look on her face.

"We don't have any tickets...or badges, do we?" she inquired to the elder Warner.

"Now what fun would that be?" Yakko purred with a playful grin.

"Oh shit..." Rem groaned.

"I'm waiting..." the guard said, impatiently tapping his feet.

"For what?" Wakko asked scratching his head.

"For-Oooohhh! I'm going to have to ask you kids to leave."

"Why? We just got here." Yakko quipped.

"Rrrrgh. You kids are crazy! Get out!"

"Oh we would but, eeehhhhhhh, Captin' Kirk's taking center stage over there."

"He is? Where?!"

With the guard distracted, the group of five made a break for it. When he turned back to where they were standing, it was too late.

"Hey! Get back here!" the guard shouted.

The toons were already hot on their feet zipping through the convention center, making the unwitting guard go in circles. At one point, they passed by a pretty lady dressed up as an exotic alien, to which Wakko stopped instantly.

"Heeelllloooooo, Nurse!" he cried at the lady.

"Not now, Wakko.." Dot interjected pulling her red-capped brother away.

"You know, I _really love_ running from the authorities from time to time." Rem muttered sarcastically.

"Oh hush." Dot told her.

"Just go with the flow, Rem." Yakko added.

"I try..." Rem replied with a depressing frown.

They turned a corner and hid from sight while the guard continued to search for them. He paused to scratch his head, until the Warners-including Sakko-suddenly appeared before him, dressed up like _Star Trek_ characters. Yakko as Kirk, Wakko as Spock, Dot as Uhura, and Sakko as Scotty. Rem remained in usual attire and out of the guard's line of sight. She watched in total disbelief as the guard mistook them for the actual actors.

"Erm excuse me, folks. Have you seen five kids wandering around here?" he politely asked.

"They went that way." Yakko replied, pointing forward.

"Oh, thank you."

"Live long and prosper." Wakko said while giving the guard the Vulcan hand sign.

"Yeah...sure."

He started on his way until he ran into the real actors in their costumes and then turned back towards where the Warners stood, only to find them gone.

"HEY!"

But the group was already long gone at that point. A few seconds later, they all came to a stop in a secluded area.

"I knew he was gonna see through that." Rem retorted.

"Say, why didn'tcha put on a disguise, Rem?" Sakko asked curiously.

"I don't do that."

"Rem's a bit new at the whole prospect of zaniness, Sakko." Dot said.

"Whatever..."

"But just for the sake of the argument, you shoulda been Chekov." Yakko quirked.

"Tch, yeah right." Rem snorted. "Chekov was a freakin' loser."

XXXXXXX

Later that day when the sun was getting ready to set, the Warners began turning their attention on getting back to their home in the Water Tower.

"Well gang," Sakko announced. "I'm afraid this is where we must part."

"Really? That sounds like good news." Dot quirked.

"I'll ignore that. Goodbye, Rem."

"Where you off to now?" Rem asked with a raised eyebrow.

"To places unknown." Wakko quipped to which Sakko shot an annoyed look at as he giggled.

"I'm just gonna tie up some unfinished business." the grey-furred Warner said to Rem with a cheerful smile while holding her hand. "But I'll be back."

"Hopefully not soon." Dot whispered to Wakko which made him stifle a snicker.

"Bye y'all!" Sakko called out as he waved.

Rem and the Warner trio watched him leave. Dot's eye caught a slightly dirty look on Yakko's face, as if he were angry or miffed at something.

"Hey, what's eatin' you?" the Warner sister asked while shaking her brother's arm.

"Huh? Eeehhhh, nothing." Yakko muttered in reply. "Let's go home."

"Rem? Are you coming?" Wakko called out.

"Yeah, sure." the teen replied. "Right behind you."

The group then set off for Burbank in silence. That is until Wakko broke it.

"You know, you still coulda been Chekov, Rem." he quipped.

"...shut up." Rem retorted.

* * *

**AN: Star Trek belongs to Paramount btw ^^**


	27. Becoming a Quartet

***Chapter 5: Becoming a Quartet***

Another morning dawned in Burbank. Today's weather would be partly cloudy skies and a balmy 80 degrees. Like always, Rem was the first to be up and about, earning her the nick-name, 'Early Bird'. With that routine, she was usually the one to fix breakfast if cereal wasn't on the menu. After Rem groggily made her way towards the kitchen and narrowly missed hitting the wall, she fired up the oven. Whenever she was making breakfast, the Warners would instantly awake and zip to the table with a fork and knife in hand.

This time, the Warners were literally snoring in harmony, which gave Rem the hope that if she was quiet enough, maybe she could cook in peace. The only problem now was trying to figure out what the hell she wanted to eat that morning.

_Let's see...yesterday I had waffles..for the third time this week. The day before that, it was pancakes. And before that was cereal...ugh, this sucks!_

Rem nearly groaned in frustration. She hated situations like this where she couldn't make up her mind about something. And in terms of food, if she ended up not being able to make up her mind, she ended up not eating at all. Then the teen remembered that they got fresh bread the other day at the super market.

_You know, now that I think about it, I haven't had French Toast in ages._

A few minutes later, Rem had all the prep work done and she started cooking. Now she waited for the inevitable. About 0.2 micro-seconds after, Rem could sense could sense them standing behind her.

"Morning..." she grumbled.

"Good morning, sunshine." the trio sang.

_...fuck off..._

"Please don't screw with me." Rem moaned. "It's too friggin' early in the morning for that."

"Did we wake up on the wrong side of the bed?" Wakko purred.

"She must've. Check out the interesting bed-head she's got." Yakko commented, pointing out how Rem's hair was sticking out every which way with is thumb.

"There's nothing wrong with my hair..." Rem muttered.

"Rem, you look like someone gave you one heck of a noogie." Dot said with a little rant in her tone.

"Whatever, man. Would you guys get the hell off my back?!"

"Relax, Rem. Chill out." Yakko said smoothly, putting his white gloved hands on her shoulders. "There's no need to create a tempest in a teacup."

"By the way, whatcha makin'?" Dot asked.

"...French Toast." Rem replied.

"_OOooooo.._" the trio marveled, much to Rem's irritation.

"Hey wait a minute." Yakko interjected, before taking a whiff of the teen's concoction. "Is that vanilla I smell?"

"That it is, Warner." Rem said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Don't you usually use honey for French Toast?"

"...Ew. No. It's a recipe I got from Grams. And now I think you just spoiled my appetite. Freaking Basterd."

"Oh boo-hoo. Whatever shall we do?"

"Shut the hell up."

xxxxxxx

20 minutes later, Rem was flopping the last slice of French Toast onto a plate with the other 11 slices and then placing them on the kitchen table. Rem turned her back one for a second and already the Warners had their mouths stuffed.

"Hey, these aren't bad." Dot commented. "They actually melt in your mouth."

"Great. Glad you enjoy them." Rem said in a monotone voice.

"Looks like we've got an official Warner cook, sibs." Yakko declared.

Rem raised an eyebrow.

_Oh goody..._

XXXXXXX

Later that day, Ralph the Guard was carrying a wooden box through one of the buildings on the Studio lot. Inside the box were the Warners and a very cramped up Rem.

"You know, I really hate this mode of transportation." she growled.

"Well, we really don't have much of a choice." Yakko said.

"I KNOW. It's the same damn story every freaking time!"

"Are we having issues again, Rem dear?" Dot asked in a sweet voice.

"I have claustrophobia. Very bad claustrophobia."

"...Really?" Yakko asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice.

"YES FREAKING REALLY!"

The Warners winced at her outburst as she started breathing hard.

"Alright Rem, just take a breather." Dot said while patting the teen's back.

"How the hell am I supposed to breathe in the first place?! I'M IN A GOD-DAMN BOX!"

"_Reeeeem_?" the Warners purred in unison.

"...what?" Rem whined.

The Warners whirled into positions where Yakko was sort of massaging the teen's head-also being careful not to knock off her blue rose-Dot patting her hand, and Wakko inspecting her left foot.

"Relax." Yakko said softly.

"Mellow out." Dot added with the same tone of voice.

"Faboo." Wakko said absent-mindedly.

"Think happy thoughts." Yakko cooed.

"Okay, now you're starting to piss me off." Rem lowly muttered.

Then there was a thump. Like the box was being set down on a flat surface. It set Rem off again.

"What the fuck was that?!" she cried.

"Well, so much for putting her in her happy place." Yakko remarked with arms folded.

A few seconds later, a crow bar opened the box. Instantly, the Warners popped out and greeted the person who opened it.

"Hiya, Mrs. Flamiel!" they exclaimed in unison.

They then gave her one big cartoony smooch and leapt off the woman's desk. After spitting and putting, she noticed Rem clinging to the side of the open box and trying to catch her breath.

"Who are you?" Mrs. Flamiel asked as she adjusted her glasses.

"...rem roth..." Rem squeaked.

"Well Miss Roth, kindly take a seat in the extra desk if you please."

"...sure...whatever..."

Rem shakenly walked towards a fourth desk which had random things scrawled all over it. The Warners meanwhile, were already seated nice and perfectly straight, with their hands folded on the neat and clean desks in which they sat.

"Good morning, children." Mrs. Flamiel said curtly. "Shall we begin class?"

That quickly got Rem's attention.

"Wait a minute. Class?!" she questioned.

"Yes, Miss Roth. This is school after all."

Then the teen shot a nasty and accusing look at the Warners.

"Dude, what the hell?!" she exclaimed. "I still have to go to freaking school?!"

"Well at least _our_ grades aren't as sour as yours." Yakko jokingly pointed out.

"Oh whatever!"

"AHEM!"

Mrs. Flamiel had her arms folded and an impatiently waiting for the children to come to order.

"If you don't mind, we'll begin today's lesson." the tutor spoke with a very snooty voice.

Rem mentally growled.

_God dammit..._

"Now Miss Roth, since you are a new student, I shall introduce myself. I am your teacher, Mrs. Flamiel."

"'Sup?" Rem replied while sinking in her desk a little.

"And sit up! Back straight! I won't tolerate slouching in _my_ classroom."

_Great. Another tight-ass instructor..._

"Rem's special, Mrs. Flamiel." Dot said sweetly as the teen sat up in her desk.

"Yeah, she went to high school." Wakko added.

"Isn't that right, Rem?" Yakko playfully said.

"...Fuck off, Warner." Rem lowly hissed.

"MISS ROTH! I CERTAINLY WON'T TOLERATE NAUGHTY LANGUAGE IN MY CLASS!" Mrs. Flamiel roared. "If I hear it again, I'll have to give you an F."

"Oh yeah, we forgot." Dot said.

Then she and her brothers placed another tape-label over Rem's mouth that had the word, 'CENSORED' stamped across it. Rem grumbled and folded her arms.

_...not this crap again.._

"Alright children," Mrs. Flamiel declared. "no more delays now. Let us begin class."

xxxxxxx

2 hours later, the gang managed to escape the clutches of their teacher. They zipped through the Studio lot until finally coming to a stop in front of Sound Stage 2.

"Ugh, that was the most hellish two hours of my flipping life!" Rem ranted.

"You might as well get used to it." Yakko told her. "There's plenty more to come."

"Oh my God, dude."

"Aww, don't worry about it, Rem." Dot said as she and her brothers whirled to her side.

"Yeah, we promise not to give you any whirlies." Wakko added.

The teen made one depressing frown.

_Yeah, like you could anyway..._

"You know, I think I'm gonna try and break outta the lot for a bit." Rem mumbled aloud.

"Oh no you don't." Yakko replied sternly as he and his siblings stood around her with scolding expressions and their hands on their hips. "We're not having that again."

"HEY YOU KIDS!"

The gang was interrupted by Ralph. He had been looking for them since Mrs. Flamiel had informed him that they had left the class room and were now free on the lot. Rem took this opportunity to use her stealth abilities and slip away.

"You kids hafta-"

"Would you mind waiting one second, dearie?" Dot as said pleasantly as she grabbed his tie and lowered his face to her level. "We're kinda in the middle of a family meeting with Rem here."

"Duuhh, but I don't sees Rem." Ralph said confusingly.

The trio turned around and discovered that the teen was no longer with them.

_(Now Playing: Jonathan Low by Vampire Weekend)_

"REM!" Yakko shouted angrily and annoyingly. "GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE, NOW!"

But by that time, Rem had already found her old route of escape and was now climbing over the fence.

"Tch, as if." she ranted after hearing the elder Warner. "I'm going for a walk."

As soon as her feet touched the ground bellow, Rem sped off, using her enhanced toon speed. She was barely a mile away when she sensed the Warners hot on their heels after her.

"Oh crap..." she cursed to herself.

Rem made a U-turn into the suburban part of town and her pursuers followed. Suddenly, she had a sense of playfulness take root inside her. A feeling that had been greatly foreign to her for ages. It turned into competition and a drive to outrun her chasers. The Warners caught on to the gist rather quickly and of course, felt obliged to join in and beat her at her own game.

The chase had become a round of hide and seek or tag. Mostly tag.

Then Rem sensed that the siblings had split up in different directions in order to catch her faster. Rem decided to take a detour into the foothills where there was plenty of vegetation and foliage to hide in or gain more distance between her and her pursuers. But the zany trio was not to be upstaged. Each of them put the pedal to the metal and went a little faster than they usually went.

Then Rem's sixth sense suddenly alerted her that there was a presence approaching towards her left.

_Wakko..._

She quickly swerved to her right just as the red-capped Warner jumped out from the bushes and attempted to pounce on her, but ended up crashing to the ground. Rem sped up even faster, however her short delay brought out the welcome mat for another.

_Dot..._

The teen jumped up towards a tree, bouncing off the trunk and then ending up in another part of the foothills. Rem was a bit amazed that, that even worked but hell, if the other toons could do it, why not her? To the Warners, her evasion tactics were impressive to say the least. However, the leader was still greatly undeterred.

_Okay, little missy. Let's see you get the better of me..._

Getting rid of Yakko was going to be one hell of a project. Call it paranoia, but Rem could actually _feel_ him right behind her. She tried losing him the same way she did with Wakko and Dot, but to no avail. Yakko must have literally read 'every trick in the book'. The teen became increasingly agitated as she sensed him closing in on her.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!_

At this point, Yakko was like a Death Star TIE fighter closing in on an X-Wing. Rem tried at least one last to escape from the Warners altogether by taking an unexpected turn into a grove of palm trees. But that simply made Yakko lock-on target. Just as Rem zipped out of the grove, thinking that she was scot-free, Yakko shot out like a bullet and pounced the teen. They both landed on the soft and tall grassy floor beneath them in a cloud of dirt and dust. When everything cleared, the elder Warner gave Rem a victorious look.

"Got'cha." he sneered.

_(End Music)_

XXXXXXX

Back at the Studio, Mr. Plotz was outside his office with Dr. Scratchansniff, Ralph, and Hello Nurse. The three of them were holding nets, and preparing for a hunt for the Warners.

"Alright, I want you three to find those kids and put them back in their Tower." the CEO ordered. "And I don't want-"

He paused when he and the other three employees saw the trio in question walk casually onto the lot. Yakko was leading them and Wakko and Dot were carrying a captured Rem. The teen was all tied up with a pad lock in the middle and a white bandanna was tied around her mouth. Rem had a grudging expression on her face as they carried her all the way to the Water Tower.

"We got this." Wakko said, just before Plotz or Scratchansniff could ask what was going on.

As the gang went inside their Tower, they left the Warner Bros. CEO and three employee shrugging their shoulders and scratching their heads.

"Well, uh, nevermind I guess." Mr. Plotz chuckled.

* * *

**AN: And thus ends Act IV. Hope you enjoyed :)**

**-Song List-**

**Within Temptation**  
**-It's the Fear**  
**-Fire and Ice**  
**-Empty Eyes**

**Evanescense**  
**-Weight of the World**  
**-Lose Control**  
**-Good Enough**

**-Harmagedden by Apocalypta**

**-Decode by Paramore**

**-Jonathan Low by Vampire Weekend**


	28. Interlude 4

**AN: Hey guys! Again sorry for the VERY long update. But from here on out, updates are going to get longer because 1.) School's back in session, and 2.) I recently got a job :D So I ask for all who faithfully read this to please be patient with the updates and not worry because there's no way in hell I'm canceling this. **

**One word of caution before reading, this chap has a bit of abuse in it but too extreme. Other than that, enjoy!**

* * *

***Interlude 4***

Early one morning, Dr. Scratchansniff burst into the Water Tower with great urgency.

"Vake up, vake up!" he cried out. "Eet's time to go! It's a quarter till eight!"

The four kids, trying to maintain their slumbering state, grumbled and moaned. Since Rem was the early riser, she was easily awakened first.

"Urrggh...dude, what the hell?!" she grumbled. "It's flipping Saturday!"

"Up und at 'em keeds!" Dr. Scratchansniff persisted. "Come on, shake a leg!"

_Ugh, Jesus Christ..._

The quartet at the P-sychiatrist's behest, dragged themselves out of bed with Rem almost running into everything. While Otto was quickly whipping up some scrambled eggs-which Wakko would not eat-Yakko and Dot instantly got into an argument about who would get to use the bathroom first.

"Hey wait a minute!" the Warner Sister cried. "_I_ was going to use the bathroom!"

"Well too bad, I got here first." Yakko told her.

"But I need to put on my face!"

"It can wait."

"No it can't! And besides, you take forever in there!"

"No I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

"No, I DON'T!"

"YES, YOU DO!"

Meanwhile, Wakko, Rem, and Dr. Scratchansniff were sort of helplessly watching from the kitchen table.

xxxxxxx

About 20 minutes later, they all went out to the Studio therapist's car and the epic argument between Yakko and Dot continued.

"I wanna sit by a window this time!" Dot insisted.

"No, I wanna sit by the window!" Yakko protested.

"Oh so you can hang your tongue out in the air like Wakko does?!"

"Oh be quiet!"

"YOU BE QUIET!"

"Why don't you _both_ shut the hell up?!" Rem snapped in an irritated voice as she passed by them and climbed into the front seat of the car.

Then once everyone was aboard the vehicle, Scratchansniff pulled out of the studio and drove into the freeway. There was a brief silence in the cab of the car before Yakko and Dot broke out into the third argument that morning.

"Ow, he kicked me!" Dot cried.

"Did not!" Yakko protested.

"Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"I'm bored..." Wakko whined.

Meanwhile in the front, both Dr. Scratchansniff and Rem-who was all slumped in her seat-carried irritated looks on their faces, although the shrink tried to be pleasant in the negative atmosphere.

"Eh, let's put on zome music, ja?" he said.

He leaned forward and switched on the radio.

"_You're listening to Howie Turn_." said a voice from the speaker. "_Next caller, you're on the air.._"

Rem slowly turned her face from the window and towards the radio with an expression of great disbelief.

"_Howie Turn_?" she questioned, thinking of another radio host with a 'similar' name.

"What? You've never heard of talk show hosts?" Yakko sarcastically replied.

"Not this early in the day. Plus the name of the host sounds suspiciously familiar."

"See what else is on, Scratchy." Dot interjected.

Dr. Scratchansniff turned the knob on the tuner and switched channels on the radio.

"_Are you having hot flashes? This brand new-_"

"Ugh, I hate commercials. Change it." Yakko said.

The P-sychaitrist turned the channel again. Instead of a talk show or commercial, classical music was being broadcasted instead.

"Hm, Mozart." Rem commented.

The Warners made a face.

"What are you? An automatic labeler?" Dot asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sort of. However I prefer _Requiem_."

"Dat's gud, Rem." Dr. Scratchansniff said. "Classical music ees helpful to za mind."

There was a pause as all five of the cab's passengers continued listening to the piece. Then Wakko got restless.

"This is boring." he complained. "Change it."

Otto groaned a little and changed the channel a third time.

"_You're listening to, Radio Disney!_"

"Change it." the toon quartet immediately interjected.

Giving a sigh, the therapist changed radio channels again, wondering if they would ever settle on just one channel.

"_Buy it, use it, break it, fix it_." sang an electronic sounding voice. "_Trash it, change it, mail-upgrade it_."

"Charge it, point it, zoom it, press it." Rem suddenly and abruptly joined in. "Snap it, work it, quick-erase it. Write it, cut it, paste it, save it. Load it, check it, quick-rewrite it. Plug it, play it, burn it, rip it. Drag and drop it, zip-unzip it. Lock it, fill it, call it, find it. View it, code it, jam-unlock it. Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it. Cross it, crack it, switch-update it. Name it, rate it, tune it, print it. Scan it, send it, fax-rename it. Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it. Turn it, leave it, start-format it. Technologic. Technologic. Technologic. Technologic."

As the verse repeated, everyone else in the cab stared at Rem in semi-shock whilst she repeated every word flawlessly. Even when the song was going at a speed that was somewhat hard to follow.

"Faboo.." Wakko marveled.

"She almost sounds like the guy singing it." Yakko added with a little rant in his voice. "If you even _call_ that singing."

"I don't know, Yakko. I think you've met your match." Dot mused.

"Whaddya mean?"

"Well, you've got it made with the Nations of the World, and Every Word in the English language. Rem's got...whatever this is..."

The electronic sounding music continued and Rem started bobbing her head a little to the fast paced beat. But to her peers, it was just noise.

"What IS this?" the Warners exclaimed.

"Daft Punk, fools." Rem replied before promptly returning to the lyrics. "Surf it, scroll it, pause it, click it. Cross it, crack it, switch-update it."

"Hmm...kinda reminds me of that techno rap that street urchins play." Yakko staunchly replied.

"You mean those guys that carry around big metal boom boxes on their shoulders?" Wakko asked.

"Yup."

xxxxxxx

About 45 minutes later, the group finally arrived at a theme park. Any animosity that might've remained from Yakko and Dot's earlier spat dissolved on the spot as excitement gripped them. Once Dr. Scratchansniff's car came to a stop, the Warner siblings burst out of the cab in anticipation. Rem on the other hand, just stared at horizon ahead of her as the therapist got out of the car.

"Rem? Ees zomthing vrong?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm...just not a theme park person." Rem murmured.

"Vhy?"

"I find the rides...rather stressful."

"Vell, zere are other theengs you can do other zan riding za rides."

"I guess."

"Aw come on, Rem. I'll bet you'll _love_ the Ferris wheel." Yakko purred with a sly grin.

"Fuck you, Warner. I ain't going on a freaking Ferris wheel." Rem hissed.

She walked passed him as Otto heaved a sigh.

_Aye...keeds..._

XXXXXXX

A few weeks later, Rem was finally able to get some time to herself without her zany peers tracking her every move. She took a nice quiet walk through a local park, letting nature soothe out her clouded mind. The brisk wind made her shiver a bit.

_Aw, hell. I can totally tell winter's coming. I hate this time of year.._

Rem continued down the concrete foot path, with her hands creeping up to hold her arms, simultaneously trying to provide herself with heat. Then she came to an area where a large statue of a man stood. The plaque beneath his feet read: _Martin Scorsese. Honored Film Director._

_Hmmm, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find something like this out here..._

Rem's ears twitched to the low sound of snoring and cooing. Looking up, she saw the three Goodfeathers perched atop of the statue's head and sound asleep. The teen raised an eyebrow at that.

_Aaaaand of course, the bird mob would just love to hang out here..._

She was about to leave them in peace, when the GodPigeon suddenly flew by and landed right in front of her.

"Oh, um hi?" she stammered.

"Ehhh bene giorny filly." the stout bird replied.

Rem just stared at him with a very confused expression.

_What the heck was that?! Pig Latin...?!_

"Ummm...okay?" she replied while shrugging her shoulders.

"Eh, boune cafuttie bubba."

While this was going on, Squit woke up from his nap and saw Rem talking to his revered leader. Or at least trying to.

"Hey fellas!" he called out to his associates. "Look!"

"Wha, what I do?!" Pesto yammered. "What?"

Then he and Bobby saw what Squit was looking at and became equally surprised.

"It's Rem!" Squit exclaimed.

Quite honestly, they were a little shocked to see her. They hadn't met up with her since the incident in the foot hills. Curious, the pigeons flew down towards her and the GodPigeon, kissing his talons when they touched the ground. Meanwhile, Rem was still having trouble trying to understand the great white bird.

"Ehhh, cottie leh bote oo?"

"Uh...pardon?" Rem asked blankly.

"He's askin' if you're feelin' better." Bobby translated.

"Oh! Um, yeah. I'm okay I guess."

"Fame salde ut?"

"He also wants to know if you spend time with your family." Bobby translated again.

"Well, if you're talking about the Warners, sure." Rem replied.

"Bene."

"He says good." Pesto said.

"Um, cool. I guess." Rem replied.

She felt really awkward right about now.

"Fille mama copotse fame boo!" the GodPigeon said as he walked away.

"He said a person who doesn't spend too much time with their family can never be a real person." Bobby said.

Rem narrowed her eyes a little and made a face.

_Boy, where have I heard __**that**__ one before?_

"So Rem, how've ya been? I mean, we haven't seen youse lately." Pesto said.

"Well, just being 'rehabilitated' so to speak." Rem mumbled while playing around with the hem of her vest.

"Well that's good isn't it?" Squit asked.

"I guess so."

"Rem, if ya need anything, we're behind ya 100 percent." Bobby said in a gentlemen and businessman like tone.

"Yeah, we're your buddies." Squit added with his big trade-mark grin. "Birds of a feather will flock together."

Suddenly, Pesto took offense to that.

"Whaddya mean by that?!" he demanded.

"Um, I'm just sayin' birds of a feather flock together." Squit nervously replied.

"So you're sayin that we're like a flock of flappin' chickens? Eatin' and peckin' a bunch of corn to amuse you?"

"No! That's not what I'm sayin'!"

"THAT'S IT!"

Then the crazed purple headed squab began beating poor Squit senseless. Bobby meanwhile laughed out loud as Rem looked with a very confused expression.

_Okaaaay..._

XXXXXXX

At the Acme Labs, Brain had put aside his research of Rem's background so he could prepare for the night's world take over plans. Then surprisingly, the teen appeared at the front door.

"'Sup?"

While Brain looked a little shocked to see her, Pinky was all a twitter.

"HIYA, REM! ZORT!" Pinky exclaimed. "Oh, it's good to see you."

"Um, likewise, I guess." Rem replied awkwardly.

"Hello, Rem." Brain said in a more calmer tone than Pinky's. "You're arrival is impeccable."

"It is?" the teen asked blankly.

"Yes. You wouldn't mind telling us a little about yourself would you?"

"Any reason why?"

"Just curiously."

There was a pause.

_Meh what the hell, I can edit a few stuff anyway.._

"Sure, whatever." Rem finally said.

"Excellent. Where are you from originally?" the large-craniumed mouse asked.

"Palm Springs. I'd think everybody around here would know that already."

"Was your Palm Springs different from ours considering that Dr. Frankeninni brought you from a different dimension?"

"Well, it certainly didn't have talking mice."

"I see."

"No talking mice?!" Pinky said. "Why that hard to imagine. Poit."

Brain was deep in thought as his taller partner mindlessly blabbered.

"Anything else you can tell us about your dimension?" the stout mouse asked.

"Well other than the lively colors, talking animals, which in retrospect, kinda reminds me of the friggin' _Chronicles of Narnia_, it's pretty much the same. Rem explained.

"Hmmm, interesting."

"Do they still have tasty snacks in your world, Rem?" Pinky asked.

"Umm...I'm sure it does." Rem told him.

"Oh goody!"

"Rem, if you don't mind, how old are you?" Brain inquired again.

The teen then made a grouchy face.

"I'd rather not go into that." she mumbled.

"Why not? Are you self-conscious of your age?" Brain replied.

"A little bit..."

"Don't worry, Rem. We'll tell nobody else. NARF!" Pinky promised.

After a few seconds of silence, Rem finally fessed up.

"I'm fourteen.."

"Seems accurate." Brain mused while scratching underneath his chin.

"You tell anybody about that, I sear I'll kick your little butts." Rem threatened.

"Yes well, rest assured your 'secret' is safe with us."

XXXXXXX

A few days later, Rem, Wakko, and Dr. Scratchansniff were on their way to the Administration Building.

"Sooooo, where are we off to?" Rem had asked.

"Mr. Plotz's offiss." the P-sychiatrist replied.

"What are we going there for?" Wakko inquired.

"Because you ate zome of ze props een zoundstage 38. Vhich vas een use."

"Just out of curiosity, why does this require my presence?" Rem asked.

"Because eef eet's possible, I'd like to fit een a zession."

_Oh goody..._

The three of them came into the building and walked through the lobby. When they got to the elevators, Rem instantly came to a halt.

"Umm...you guys mind if I uh, take the stairs?" she asked in an anxious tone.

"I'm zorry Rem, but Mr. Plotz vants me to vatch both of you. I'd let you eef he vasn't zo insistant." Scratchansniff told her.

"Come on, Rem." Wakko insisted taking Rem's hands. "Riding in elevators is fun!"

_The hell it is!_

The toon pulled her inside and then Dr. Scratchansniff pushed the button of the floor on the panel. Rem clung to the handle bars with a death-grip as the car started going up. Instantly, her claustrophobia came back with a raging vengeance. Even the presence of Dr. Scratchansniff and Wakko wasn't enough to make her feel calm. The teen squeezed her eyes shut and tried to take deep breaths. It didn't take long for the studio shrink to notice.

"Rem? Are you alright?" he asked.

"...y-yeah." Rem squeaked. "J-just fine."

"Uh-oh, you're not having another claustrophobia jag are you?" Wakko asked.

"I freaking said I was fine!"

Both Wakko and Scratchansniff kind of flinched at her outburst. Then suddenly, the car jolted and stopped in the middle of its journey up the building. Something that nearly made Rem jump to the ceiling of the elevator car.

"WHA-WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" the teen cried.

"Oh dear, not again." Scratchansniff groaned.

"Looks like we've stopped again." Wakko said with a grin.

Meanwhile, Rem was now in the throes of a panic attack.

_No fuckin' shit, Sherlock!_

Scractchansniff quickly went to the panel and pushed the intercom button.

"Hello? Ees zomeone zere?" he spoke into the speaker.

A few seconds later, a voice was heard on the speaker.

"_Hey there-no don't use the hammer Big Ed! Eh, sorry 'bout that. This is the Warner Bros. Maintenance Team, what can we do for ya?_"

"Za elevator ees out of order again!" Scratchansniff exclaimed.

"_It is? Huh, ain't that strange. It was working this mornin'._"

The P-sychiatrist let out a cry of fury and turned to the middle Warner.

"Vakko! Do you have your gag bag?! _Pleeaaase_, tell me you have your gag bag!" Otto cried.

"Sorry, Scratchy." Wakko apologized.

While all this was happening, Rem into her own little world. She had slowly sled onto the floor putting her head between her knees so she wouldn't pass out from her panic attack. Her mind started warping from the present time to past memories. She was consciously taken to the first time she ever had a claustrophobia episode.

_6-year-old Rem was at home playing around with the Legos her father had brought home for her one day, while in the living room. Then after a while she went to use the restroom. When she came back, her brother was throwing all her hard work of building things into the plastic tub in which they were usually kept, breaking apart upon impact._

_"J-jason! I was using those!" Rem cried in a soft voice._

_"Well take 'em to your room!" the older boy barked. "I'm gonna use the TV!"_

_He continued tossing the built up Legos into the tub with them breaking apart in different sections._

_"Stop! Just let me put them back!" Rem exclaimed, trying to save whatever she could of her work._

_But her pleas were met with her brother angrily cornered her into the nearby wall._

_"Don't yell at me, you stupid little brat!" he growled threateningly._

_That's when it happened. The fear of being suffocated by the 'walls' closing in and panic surging through her entire body. But she did try to overcome it. After all, it was just her brother trying to intimidate her. For the umpteenth time._

_"Quit it, Jason." Rem said in a much softer voice, much to her dismay because she wanted to sound as tough as his. "You wouldn't like it if I touched your stuff like that..."_

And that's when the memory ended and everything faded to black. Rem didn't remember much after that. Mostly because, she had kept it in the very back of her head where all the other unpleasant things were locked up tightly.

Rem hadn't even noticed that a whole 15 minutes had passed her by. Dr. Scratchansniff was still angrily demanding the Maintenance Team to get down there and fix the dang elevator. All the while Wakko was curiously watching the raving shrink. Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw something that instantly grabbed his attention. In the far corner of the elevator car, Rem was curled halfway into a ball on the floor, still holding her head and her eyes tightly shut.

"Rem? Are you okay?" the red-capped Warner softly called out while approaching her.

"...fuck off, Jason." the teen murmured in a very low voice.

That one caught Wakko by surprise.

"_Jason_? Who's that?" he asked.

Rem's eyes popped open in surprise as she was snapped back into reality. She had accidently let that slip out. She didn't mean to let it out, it just happened that way.

"No...nobody.." the teen mumbled, curling more inward.

"Oh phooey! Who is he?" Wakko insisted.

Rem remained quiet.

"I don't wanna talk about..." she muttered."You wouldn't get it anyway."

"Aw come on. You can tell me." the middle Warner continued. "Come and talk ol' Wakko."

"Old? I think it'll be a million years before you even reach that age range."

"Maybe. But until then, I don't mind lending you an ear."

He yanked off one of his ears and presented it to Rem, who in turn let out a little moan.

"I'm not feeling too good..." she mumbled.

There was a pause as Rem curled a little further into her ball. The cold air and the fact that they were all stuck about 60 to 70 feet in the air was starting to get to her. The she suddenly felt something sit beside her and carefully lift her up. It was Wakko, who had voluntarily sat next to her and lifted the teen into his lap. Rem started to jump and squirm.

"Whoa-whoa, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed.

"I used to do this with Dot all the time." Wakko told her. "Now it's mostly when she gets sick."

Rem felt extremely awkward lying on the lap of someone of the opposite gender. Especially since that someone appeared to be very younger than her. Then they were both interrupted by a now furious Dr. Scratchansniff.

"I vant you people to get your butts up here, und fic thees stupid elevator!" he shouted.

Both Wakko and Rem made faces at him.

"So, tell me about Jason." Wakko told her.

Rem hesitated for a bit before answering.

"...he's...was my older brother." Rem said in a very low voice.

"_Was_?" Wakko replied.

"Well, I don't really consider him _family_ anymore."

"So _that's_ the mystery older brother. How come you don't call him family anymore?"

"Because he's been an ass to me all my life. I really thought that maybe after he got drafted into the Army, he'd change. But like everything else, the C.O.s let me down."

What'd he do that was so bad?"

"Please, the list has got to be as long as friggin' Jacob's ladder. For starters, he had this attitude like I was inferior to him or something. I never really understood what the hell his problem was."

There was a short pause as Rem started to relax from her anxiety a little. Wakko meanwhile put on a frown. He already didn't like the sound of this guy.

"Go on." the middle Warner said.

Rem let out a heavy sigh.

"Once, when it was just him, mom, and I going out and doing stuff, mom asked him to hold my hand so I wouldn't get lost or something like that. And what the fuck does he do?! He holds me by the god damned neck! And that was every time we went out. It didn't stop until Grams caught him and let him have it. She also yelled at mom for letting him do it." the teen replied.

"Didn't your mom notice?" Wakko asked.

"Tch, yeah right. If I went to either her or dad about him, they'd tell me that _I'm being too sensitive_. But then I think Jason was sneaking his way around that whole gig as much as he could. I guess he didn't think Grams would kick his ass for it so to speak."

While this was going on, Dr. Scratchansniff had noticed them and took the opportunity to whip out his note pad and pen and start writing down notes.

"After a while, I tried to just avoid him in every possible way I could." Rem continued as her voice became less harsh and more lighter. "And sometimes it just wasn't that easy. My parents really paid more attention to him than they did with me, so I have no idea where all the hate came from. The jerk always cornered me to wall, tried using me as his personal punching bag, and picking on me, every freaking chance he got. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really happy to see leave for the Army. But like I said, he came home from basic training pretty much the same."

Another silence set in as Rem started to feel a little more relaxed. Talking to Wakko seemed to distract her from the claustrophobia bouts, though she really had no idea why the hell she even telling him all this. A seven or eight-year-old who possibly had the IQ of a brick. On the other hand, Wakko, as well as Dr. Scratchaniff were a little appalled. Actually, Wakko was rather mad. Sure he horsed around with Dot a few times around, but not like that! Heck, he wouldn't even dream of treating his younger sister like that. Nor could he picture Yakko as such. Wakko always believed that it was the duty of an older brother to provide happiness, protection, and most important of all, love to a younger sibling. Come to think of it, it was no wonder why Rem was extremely hostile towards Yakko before.

As for the studying P-sychiatrist, this was a big break in Rem's case. However, he felt there was more than that. Much more. Still, it said a lot.

Then suddenly, the elevator car jolted again, making Rem jump. The ceiling light flickered a bit and the car started going upwards to their designated floor.

"_Hey_!" a voice called out from the panel speaker. "_We got the elevator workin' again. Big Ed forgot to lubricate them cables._"

"Oi, vhat a relief..." Scratchansniff sighed, putting a hand over his head.

Rem let out a whine and Wakko patted her head.

"Don't worry Rem, we'll be outta here in no time." he told her.

At first, the teen was silent. She put a hand over her chest as it started to ache and frowned.

_I can feel it beating again..._

"If you tell Yakko this, I'm gonna smack you." she threatened.

Rem already had enough of the elder Warner practically breathing down her neck.

XXXXXXX

Later that week, Rem decided to go back to the Music Building and hit upon the cello. She played a tune that started out sullen at first, but started to pick up.

_(Now Playing: Farewell by Apocalypta)_

It was one of the many pieces she had completely memorized in her head. And like before, it attracted her three peers. A few minutes of silence between the quartet passed as the Warners observed their charge's smooth handling of the instrument.

"That's pretty good." Dot commented. "But I think it's missing something."

_(End Music)_

"What do you mean something's _missing_?!" Rem ranted as she came to a stop.

"Think she's right, Rem." Yakko added. "But, ehhhhhhh, I can't put my finger on what tho."

"Hey Rem, can you play this?" Wakko asked.

He whipped out a violin and went of playing _Turkey in the Straw_ in an upbeat fashion. Rem just stared a little. Although she was inclined to meet his challenge, the song was a bit too cheery for her tastes.

"Um, I think that piece us better suited for a violin, Warner." the teen said.

"Chicken." Yakko quipped while playfully elbowing her side.

"Oh whatever!"

* * *

**Song List**

**-Where I Come From by Passion Pit**

**-The Abduction from the Seraglio K. 384 Turkish Finale by Mozart**

**-Technologic by Daft Punk **

**-Caged by Within Temptation**

**-Turkey in the Straw**


	29. Act V Prelude

**AN: Well. Right now I'm _really_ bummed because remember I told y'all I recently got a job? Well my employer decided to let go of all the temporary positions so now I'm jobless. AGAIN. *sigh* Oh well back on the hunt I guess T-T**

**Anyway enough about me. Here's Act V Gentlemen! Enjoy :)**

* * *

***Act V***

_She stood there in the bathroom, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her black hair was slightly a mess and her face had a slight blush in it. Reeling from what Dot had said earlier. It just couldn't be possible. It was __**NOT**__ possible. She wasn't going down that road. She didn't __**want**__ to travel down that path. Not again. Not ever. As a matter of fact, she didn't even want to be anywhere near the subject. The last time it was visited upon, she was left emotionally crippled._

_Why does this shit always happen to her?_


	30. They're Tiny, They're Toony

**AN: This is the first time I'm using characters from _Tiny Toon Adventures_ so please be kind to the way I portray them. It took me 2 weeks of watching _Tiny Toons_ on DVD so I could get their characters and mannerisms right. Oh well, enjoy!**

* * *

***Chapter 1: They're Tiny, They're Toony...***

Winter had finally arrived come to California. Daylight savings was over and thus, the days became shorter. The weather got colder, which enticed tourists to come down to the Golden State and enjoy the 60 to 70 degrees climate.

In a more rural part of the state, was Acme Acres. At Acme Looniversity, it was the last day before its students would be let out for their holiday break. In one classroom, _Basic Gags 101_, a male blue rabbit anxiously eyed the clock above the black board, just waiting for it to strike three. His name was Buster Bunny. He and his partner, Babs Bunny, a female pink rabbit sitting next to him on his left, had big plans this winter. As a matter of fact, the whole class had big plans.

The only problem was, where were they going to spend their long break?

They figured everything else out. Except location.

Finally the clock tolled three and the last bell was rung. All the Acme Looniversity students rushed out of the school building like a stampeding herd of elephants, nearly knocking down their teachers to the floor. Buster took a deep breath of air as if he were breathing in freedom. His whole group of friends including, Plucky Duck, Hampton J. Pig, Gogo Dodo, Fifi Lafume, Dizzy Devil, Sweetie Bird, Shirley the Loon, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper, Furrball, and even Elmyra Duff, were all gathered around the large front yard of the school and looking over a map of the world trying to figure out where to spend the holidays.

"How about New York City?" Hampton suggested. "I hear the New Years Eve celebration there is going to be quite festive this year."

"Oh sheesh, Hampton. It's festive every year!" Plucky interjected while rolling his eyes.

"Why not Parie?" Fifi offered.

"Nah, we lost Furrball on the way there when we had summer break this past year." Babs said.

"Well, we already toured the United States for Spring break." Plucky ranted. "We ain't doin that again!"

"I know!" Buster exclaimed. "We can visit the ol' Warner Bros. Studio in Burbank. We haven't been there in a while haven't we?"

The group erupted in murmurs of thought and agreement.

"Yeah, we haven't gone ta Burbank in a long, long, time!" Gogo exclaimed.

"Then it's Burbank, California and the home studio it is!" Buster declared.

Montana Max who had been listening in on the group since school let out, turned his nose up and started walking away.

"Well you losers can go on to Burbank. I'm headin' off to Beverly Hills 90210." he sneered as he entered his stretched limo. "Have a nice vacation, ya dorks!"

And with that, the limo revved up and sped off. Leaving everyone else choking and coughing in the smoke left behind by the tail pipe.

"Aww, forget about him." Buster said. "We're not gonna let Monty ruin our fun."

"Burbank, California, here we come!" Babs cried.

XXXXXXX

_God damn, I hate winter!_

In the middle of the said Southern Californian city and movie studio, Rem now clad in her black hoodie that she acquired in Santa Monica, was violently shivering in the brisk air. She was out helping her peers decorate the Water Tower for the holidays.

"Ya know," Yakko said as he came climbing down from the tower. "I can see you shaking a leaf from all the way up there."

"Fuh-f-f-fuck off, Wuh-Warn-n-ner." Rem cursed as her teeth chattered.

Yakko's younger siblings came down to join them. Wakko, like his older brother, had a scarf wrapped loosely around his neck and was all tangled up in X-Mas lights. Dot meanwhile had a light knit magenta sweater on her.

"For cryin' out loud, Rem." she ranted. "It's only 67 degrees out here. You can't possibly be _that _cold."

"...Pluh-please d-don't mention thuh-that freaking 'c-word' i-in my pur-presence." Rem muttered.

Yakko raised an eyebrow at her and had an expression like she was being over dramatic.

"Dot, why don't you take Rem to the commissary for a bit and get her some hot cocoa or something." he told his younger sister. "Before she gives herself a stroke."

"Oh, alright." Dot sighed. "Come on, Rem. Let Mama Dot get you _aaalllll_ fixed up."

The two brothers watched them leave before Yakko turned to Wakko.

"So, you wanna plug in the color changing search light?" the elder Warner asked.

"My pleasure." Wakko replied with a little bow.

xxxxxxx

Meanwhile at the Studio Commissary, instead of getting hot chocolate or coffee, Rem got herself hot Earl Grey tea. As soon as she sat down, the teen noticed that in mere seconds, Dot had set up a few large heat lamps around her.

"Thanks for the gesture, but I think that's overdoing it." Rem said.

"Are ya sure?" Dot asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because you seem to be coming out of so-called, 'sub-zero' places."

"I'm temperature sensitive. Sue me."

"Yeah, I figured."

"It's not my fault. I got it from my mother."

"Oh, so it's hereditary."

"One way of putting it."

Then, Dr. Scratchansniff came waltzing into the large room sporting a Santa hat and carrying around a festive tin.

"Gud morning, ladees." he greeted cheerfully. "Care to try zome cookies from ze homeland?"

Dot and Rem both peered into the tin box that the P-sychiatrist was carrying around.

"Swiss cookies?" Rem asked.

"Ja, und chock full of zugary gudness." Scratchansniff quipped.

Dot took one and bit into it.

"Hmmm..not bad." the Warner Sister mused. "You've done well Scratchy."

Rem raised an eyebrow as Dot patted the shrink on the head.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to go hit the strings for a while." she said, getting out of her chair. "Catch you guys later."

"Make sure you play some holiday tunes, Rem." Dot called out sweetly.

_Yeah, right..._

XXXXXXX

As Rem was headed for the Music Building, two pairs of eyes caught sight of her. It was Rita and Runt. They were walking around the block when Runt spotted the teen.

"Hey! Hey Rita!" the dog shouted, making his feline companion jump. "Look! It's Rem! Duh-definitely Rem!"

"I can _see_ ya big lug." Rita growled, annoyed Runt's antics.

They watched her disappear indoors and decided to follow. When they got onto studio grounds, they began to hear the sound of a cello being played.

_(Now Playing: Darkwood 2 by David Darling)_

Like the scent of food, the two were lured in by the fluid notes. Then they found Rem by herself and gracefully sliding the bow onto the cello's strings.

"HI REM!" Runt exclaimed, making the teen stop playing instantly.

_(Pause Music)_

"Huh? What?"

Then she was suddenly tackled to the floor by the hound and nearly licked to death shortly thereafter.

"Urggh...it's nice to see you too, Runt." Rem groaned, trying to get him off of her.

"Now Runt, it's rude to greet people that way." Rita said as she simply walked towards them.

"Oh, sorry." Runt replied sheepishly.

He helped the now dizzy teen up and dusted her off.

"How are ya, Rem?" Rita asked.

"Could be better I guess." Rem replied solemnly.

"I like your music, duh-definitely like it." Runt commented.

"Yeah, why don't you go professional?" Rita asked.

Rem made a pause. A similar question was asked by a now distant friend.

"I suppose I could, but I really don't feel like it." she murmured. "And besides, I'm good where I'm at."

"Just a thought." Rita said.

"Yeah, I know..."

_(Resume Music)_

Rem silently picked the cello back up and began where she left off. The two street urchins instantly melted with the melody.

_(End Music)_

XXXXXXX

A tour bus came rolling into Burbank, carrying the Tiny Toons and their luggage. They all went either side of the bus to look out the windows.

"Burbank at last!" Buster cried.

"Finally, I can enjoy the neat water parks here!" Plucky exclaimed excitedly.

"Isn't that usually for summer time?" Hampton whispered in Babs' ear.

"Just smile and nod, Hampton." she replied. "And besides, there's bound to be a few hot tubes around here for Plucky to frolic in."

The bus pulled to a stop at the nearest station to allow its passengers to disembark.

"Ahhh, I just love the brisk Southern California has to offer." Babs sighed.

"Sure, when it doesn't have that 'June Gloom'." Plucky sarcastically retorted.

"Come on, you guys. Let's head on over to the Warner Bros. studio and see what's up." Buster said.

xxxxxxx

"Ya got it all wired in, Wakko?" Yakko called out from the ground with Dot standing beside him.

"Yup!" the red-capped Warner called back.

Wakko jumped down to join his siblings and whipped out a black remote with a big red button in the center. After pressing it, the Water Tower erupted in a huge glow of colorful and flashing lights.

"I think this earns a job well done, sibs." Yakko commented as he shook hands with his brother and sister.

"Boy, you guys haven't changed a bit." said a voice.

The Warners turned around to see who was addressing them and to their delight, it was Buster Bunny, along with his gang.

"Why, if it isn't the Tiny Toons!" Dot exclaimed.

"Come down to enjoy the holidays?" Yakko asked while shaking hands with Buster.

"Yep! Just got outta school and we're ready to party!" the blue rabbit declared.

Suddenly, Mr. Plotz appeared at the window of his office.

"YOU STUPID KIDS ARE COSTING ME A FORTUNE WITH THE STUDIO'S ELECTRIC BILL!" the CEO bellowed. "I WANT YOU THREE TO TAKE THOSE LIGHTS OUT THIS INSTANT! Oh and welcome back to the studio, Buster Bunny."

As the stout chairman of the board left the window, the rest of the toons just stared at him as if he were behaving like a madman.

"I can see _he_ hasn't changed at all." Babs remarked.

"What a killjoy." Plucky added.

"So, anything new with you guys?" Buster asked.

The Warners made a pause and then smiled mischievously at each other.

"Ehhhhhhhhh, hold that thought." Yakko quipped.

They zipped of at the speed of light, leaving the Tiny Toons waving in the wind. Then the Warners came running back, holding a protesting Rem aloft.

"Guys, what the hell?!" she cried. "I was busy!"

Her peers ignored her rants and placed the befuddled Rem onto the ground.

"Rem, we'd like you to meet some friends of ours." Yakko told her.

_More...?_

The teen looked to see several curious faces staring and blinking at her.

"Oh, um...'sup?" she greeted.

"Hi, I'm Buster Bunny." Buster greeted back.

"And I'm Babs Bunny." Babs added.

"No relation." the two rabbits said together.

"...uhhh, I'm Rem Roth." Rem stammered.

"No relation either." the Warners piped in.

_And here it comes..._

"So Rem, where ya from?" Buster asked.

"Palm Springs." the teen replied.

"Palm Springs?!" Plucky exclaimed. "Do any movie stars live there?!"

"Hell if I know..."

The Tiny Toons sort of gasped at her use of profanity while the Warners quickly covered her mouth.

"Eh, heh-heh, she's got a little bit of a swearing problem." Dot explained.

"Oh, you mean like Fowlmouth?" Hampton asked.

The young rooster next to him to offense to his statement.

"Hey! I _*bleep-bleep-bleep*_ resent that!" Fowlmouth retorted.

Dot then looked at her brother.

"Say Yakko, why can't we get Rem a bleeping sound effect?" she asked.

That's when Rem shoved away her peers' hands.

"Yeah, right. We're not doing that." she ranted.

The Tiny Toons exchanged glances and then finally shrugged it off.

"So what do you guys got planned for the holidays?" Plucky asked.

"Oh, the usual." Yakko replied smoothly with his hands in his pockets. "I suppose Mr. Plotz will be doin' _his_ usual studio Christmas party."

"Great!" Babs exclaimed.

Then, they all heard a car drive up to the studio gates and come to a stop. Both Buster and Babs instantly frowned.

"Oh yeah, we oughta warn ya that there's a certain person we weren't able to leave behind." Buster groaned.

"Who?" Wakko asked curiously.

"Awww, lookit the cute fuzzy heads!" cried a female voice.

The Warners looked up and their expressions instantly turned to horror.

"ELMYRA!" they screamed.

The siblings attempted to get away, but the red-headed girl got to them first. Rem was wise enough to step out of striking distance as Elmyra nearly squeezed the life out of the trio.

"For once, I pity them." Rem remarked as the two Bunnies came over to her.

"Hey Rem, how long have you been in Burbank?" Babs asked.

"Too long..." the teen muttered darkly. "But I'm getting used to it."

Meanwhile, the Warner gang was able to get out of Elmyra's grasp and lead her to Mindy's house where she was easily distracted by the toddler playing outside with her dog, Buttons. Then the siblings zipped back to the studio.

"Whew, that was close." Yakko commented.

"Say, Dot." Babs said. "The girls and I are gonna hit the shops. Do you and Rem wanna join us?"

"Would we?!" Dot exclaimed excitedly with her eyes sparkling.

"Actually, I think I'll just sta-"

Before Rem could finish her sentence, both Yakko and Wakko zipped over to her and stuck another 'CENSORED' tape over her mouth.

"Babs, Rem would just _love_ to join you." Yakko said.

"Yeah. Besides, Rem needs to get out of the Water Tower anyway." Dot added. "Isn't that right, _Rem_?"

They gave their charge pressuring looks and the teen finally gave in.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." she muttered after peeling the tape off herself.

"Great!" Babs said. "Let's get a move on then."

She along with Dot and the rest of the girls conjoined their arms as if they were very best friends and went trotting out of the studio. Rem however lingered behind.

"Why are you punishing me?" she whimpered lowly.

"Because Dot's right. You need to get outta the Tower and get some fresh air." Yakko told her.

"I am! That's why I came out here for God sakes. And besides I don't like outings."

"Oh? Why not?"

Then Rem got ahold of Yakko's head and pulled him towards her.

"_Because the last time I went to one those friggin' things,_" Rem whispered through clenched teeth. "_some idiot decided it was a good idea to go around and pass out rubbers to everyone. If you __**know**__ what I'm getting at..._"

Yakko made a face and then his signature palm-kissing gesture.

"Mwah! Goodnight everybody!" he proclaimed.

"I'm serious!" Rem protested.

"Well I can ASSURE you, none of THAT PG-13 stuff will be happenin'. Now get out there and socialize, willya?"

"Alright fine, I'm going. You owe me big."

With that, Rem went off to join Dot, Babs, and the rest of the Tiny Toon girls.


	31. Girls' Night Out

**AN: Urrrgg. School is starting to kick my arse :( EPECIALLY MATH. Einstein can go eff himself. Anyway please enjoy this update :) **

* * *

***Chapter 2: Girls' Night Out***

Rem had never been so freaking bored in her whole life. She followed Dot and Babs along with her Looniversity girlfriends everywhere they went in total silence. It didn't help that she felt that the climate seemed to be absolutely freezing.

_When I get out of this, I'm staying in the damn Tower for a week..._

Babs noticed that Rem was rather quiet the whole way. If Dot hadn't made a pause to make sure that the teen hadn't wandered off every now and then, the pink rabbit would've completely forgotten that Rem was even there to begin with.

"Your friend doesn't talk much, does she?" Babs whisper to the Warner Sister.

"Weeeeellll, she's got quite a few skeletons on the water closet." Dot replied. "My brothers and I always like to keep her on her toes."

"She kinda reminds me of one of those Goth people."

"Oh, you might not want to make that mistake. Here, watch...hey Rem!"

"'Sup?" Rem replied lowly.

"You're not Goth right?"

The teen made an irritated frown.

"Oh my God dude, for the last freaking time, I'M. NOT. GOTH!"

"Oh yes, I remember now. She's 'Emo'." Dot said playfully making finger gestures.

"Thank you." Rem retorted, walking past them.

"Well, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Babs asked, trying to match Rem's attitude in plain cartoony fashion.

"Qui." Fifi added.

Rem made a face.

_Urrrg God, not THIS again..._

Dot shot her a look as if she were mentally telling her to 'behave'.

"Well, to start with, I'm an orphan from down town Palm Springs." Rem explained. "NOT the area where all the friggin' celebs hang out or whatever."

"I see." Babs mused. "Orphanage?"

"I wish."

_Actually that would've been a neat blessing..._

The rabbit blinked.

"Really? No orphanage?" she asked.

"Nope." Rem said simply. "Hell, I wasn't even ward of the state, although that would've been interesting to see. I was raised by random family members."

There was a pause.

'_So what's the big dealio?_' Babs thought.

"Rem, do lighten up." Dot said nonchalantly while tugging at the teen's tail. "You're here to have fun for Pete sakes."

"...Fine." Rem muttered.

"And put on a smile!" Babs insisted, putting an arm around Rem's shoulder. "Nobody can have fun with a sad sack face."

"I'd really hate to disappoint, but I don't really smile." Rem said in a low voice.

"Boy, then we've got alotta work to do, don't we?" Babs whispered to Dot again.

"You an' me both, sister." Dot whispered back.

The group continued to walk down the street chattering back and forth and with Rem in silence again. Shirley the Loon, who had been observing Rem ever since they all met at the Studio, came waltzing over to her with her hands behind her back. Rem didn't have to look to know that the female duck was there.

"Yes? May I help you?" the teen asked.

"You seem to have a gift of a sixth sense, my dear." Shirley replied.

"Good to know."

"I should also warn you that I sense a very dark cloud that hangs above you."

Rem made a pause.

"Tell me something I don't know." she replied before moving on.

XXXXXXX

Meanwhile, back at the Studio, the Warner Brothers and the Tiny Toon boys were hanging around the commissary. Plucky was complaining about the quality of the food there, while Hampton tried to explain that it wasn't half as bad as some places. Wakko was eating all the condiments and Dizzy Devil was working up quite a tornado. Yakko and Buster were sitting at the end of one of the tables and just having a good time.

"You know, Yakko." the sky blue rabbit said. "That new friend of yours is sure one loaded pistol."

"Ehhhhh, true enough." Yakko replied. "But she ain't so bad, once you get to know her. She's also fun."

"I can imagine. She kinda reminds me of Monty."

"Ehhhhhh, not so much. For one thing she's not obsessed with dollar signs."

"You know, I also noticed she doesn't seem too happy."

The elder Warner let out a light sigh.

"That's putting it mildly." he ranted. "Didja know that we showed her all the old Groucho Marx flicks and not _once_ did she crack one?"

Buster spat the contents of his drink out when he heard that. He looked at Yakko with a shocked expression.

"_Really?!_" the red clad bunny cried.

"No lie." Yakko told him. "Stonefaced through the whole thing."

"My gosh, who DOESN'T laugh at ol' Groucho?"

"Ehhh, well, Rem's had a bit of a hard time, so I don't think she's found her sense of humor yet."

"Really? What kind of a hard time?" Buster asked curiously.

Yakko made a pause. A lot of unpleasant memories from the past months started popping up in his head.

"Eeeeehhhhhhhh, honestly Buster, it's kinda complicated to put into words. It's like one of those things where you gotta be there in person in order to get." the elder Warner said.

"Oh, you mean like Von Stroheim?" Buster replied.

"VERY Von Stroheim. But I'll tell you this, she's getting better. And like I said, she's really fun."

XXXXXXX

Back with the girls, they made it to the mall and were going around from shop to shop. True to form, Rem remained silent. To keep herself entertained, she put on one earbud and started listening to her MP3 device. A little further into the colossal shopping center, she came across a 'Hot-Topic' themed shop with ear blasting music.

_Oooo boy, welcome home..._

It didn't take long for Dot, Babs, and the rest of the group to spot her. They weren't even half surprised about seeing the teen looking into a shop like that.

"Not Goth huh?" Babs said sarcastically.

"You know, as much as most Goths annoy me, I _could_ mingle to this." Rem replied matter-of-factly.

"Uh-huh, come on, Elvira." Dot said pointedly.

"Oh whatever!" Rem ranted.

A half hour later, the group was now seated in the food court, talking and squealing about male celebrities. Rem sat there in front of a salad she had gotten for lunch whilst everyone else had either pizza or hot dogs. Rem was sure she'd lose her sanity while listening to the girls' chatter.

_My god, no wonder boys of adolescence fear girls like nothing else. If I were a guy, I'd find myself a freaking bomb shelter..._

Suddenly, the conversation shifted to what Rem would call a 180 degree turn and to the subject of cosmetics.

"Hey! Did anyone try the new Mary Kay line?" Sweetie Bird asked.

Then the group erupted in gasps and fervent chatter. Rem on the other hand, was appalled.

"Holy crap, you actually _wear_ that stuff?!" she ranted in a low voice.

"And you don't?" Dot challenged.

"Hell no..."

"You mean to tell me, you've NEVER wore make-up?"

"Nope. Never. Besides, I didn't see or feel the need for it."

The Tiny Toon girls let out various gasps of shock as Rem calmly took a sip from her soda. Dot also kept her composure while folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Not _even_ nail polish?" the Warner Sister persisted.

Rem made a pause.

"...I've used nail polish a number of times." she admitted.

"AHA!" Dot cried triumphantly.

"What kind of nail polish Didja use, Rem?" Babs asked curiously.

"Uhhh, I think the last time I painted my nails...they were black." Rem murmured.

Then the whole group gave the teen somewhat annoyed and disbelieving expressions.

"Really, Rem?" Dot sighed.

"I was experimenting." Rem justified.

"Uh-huh, _suuuuure_."

"It's not like black's my favorite color..."

"What is your favorite color, Rem?" Sweetie asked.

"I have three. It changes depending on what I'm in the mood for."

Rem then took a look around the table, seeing that everyone else was clad in bright and cheery colors and made a somewhat sour face.

"...and right now it's blue." she muttered.

"Big surprise there." Dot replied sarcastically.

"Whatever."

The other girls drew stifled giggles as Dot and Rem went back and forth at each other.

XXXXXXX

Much later, the group decided to move on from the mall and back towards the Studio, much to Rem's relief. The sun was setting, creating a pinkish violet tint in the sky. The air got even colder. Right down to 62 degrees. Making Rem very unhappy with the elements at the moment.

_God...freaking...dammit! Fuck Winter!_

"Hey Rem, you okay over there?" Babs asked as they turned a corner filled with bushes next to the side walk.

"...I-I-I-I'm...fuh-fuh-fuh-fuh-fine." Rem stammered as she held herself.

Suddenly, the teen sensed that they were not alone. She grabbed ahold of some behind her from the bushes and swung it forward over shoulder in record time. It turned out to be a person as he landed on the ground. The girls let out startled gasps as it happened.

"Nice shot, Rem." Fifi commented.

"Like nerves of steel." Dot added sassily.

Then they all saw the person intruding on them had a very familiar face.

"Hey! It's Monty!" Babs cried.

"...who?" Rem said.

Montana Max groaned as stars floated above his head.

"What the heck are you doin' here, Monty?!" Babs demanded. "I thought you were in Beverly Hills."

"Dude, if he's from Beverly Hills, then giving him the throwdown was the highlight of my day." Rem whispered to Dot.

"I was just seeing what you dorks were up to." Max said in a dignified voice while dusting himself off.

"More like spying on us." Fifi accused.

"Actually dude, why the hell do you even care?" Rem asked.

"What's it to you?!" Max demanded, swerving towards the teen.

"Me? I really don't give a crap. Just trying to make sense of why you'd come all the way over here from freaking 90210."

As Max was steaming with anger and Rem matching him almost perfectly, the Tiny Toon girls were impressed with her. Dot, only a little because this wasn't anything new. To her at least. But it was still amazing to see her kick butt figuratively at everything.

"Ah forget it, I'm outta here!" Max finally said, swatting his hand back and forth. "Later, losers!"

The group watched him leave, all with annoyed expression on their faces.

"Hate to be rude here, Babs, but he's an ass." Rem said.

"What else is new?" the pink rabbit remarked.

xxxxxxx

10 minutes later, the group finally returned to the Studio. The other half of the Tiny Toons were patiently awaiting their female counterpart.

"So, we'll see you guys tomorrow?" Buster asked.

"Oh sure." Yakko replied. "Plotzey's having the annual Christmas slash End of the Year party later this week."

"Oh boy, I can hardly wait." Hampton said.

"It was really nice meeting you, Rem." Babs said.

"Qui." Fifi added.

"Shuuh...Sure.." Rem stammered as her teeth chattered. By now, she felt like she was freezing.

"Oh and thanks for kickin' Monty's butt." Babs said again.

"Cuh...Cool." Rem replied.

Buster threw his partner a surprised look.

"Monty was here?" he asked.

"We'll talk about it later." Babs told him. "You're gonna love it."

"Bye y'all." Yakko waved.

"See ya." Buster waved back.

The quartet watched the Tiny Toons leave before Yakko turned his attention to Rem.

"So, you mind explaining what the 'Monty' thing is about?" Yakko asked with a suspicious look on his face.

"It wasn't anything really, Yakko." Dot said.

"Tch, yeah. Ah-All I duh-did was fuh-flip him over my d-damn shoulder." Rem added.

"Why?" Wakko asked while scratching his head.

"Note to self, Wakko. Don't ever sneak up on Rem." Dot replied. "She'll whup your fanny."

"Is that what happened?" Yakko asked in a confused manner.

"Yep, kinda funny actually."

"Y-yeah, huh-hilarious." Rem retorted. "Nuh-now c-can we guh-get our asses i-inside the fur-freakin' Tower already?" Rem ranted as she walked past the Warner trio.

The siblings stared at her and then at each other before smiling and shrugging.


	32. Sick

**AN: I'm gonna go ahead and post this since I owe you guys one for your patient waiting. I apologize if this arc seems lukewarm. I had massive writer's block while writing this. That and I had other stories to attend to. And for the record, I don't really hate school. It's just I hate math with a passion and my History of Modern Art professor is being a pain in the butt.**

**But other than that, enjoy! :)**

* * *

***Chapter 3: Sick***

_Oh crap..._

Rem had read the thermometer, but refused to believe the results it gave her. 99.8. She had come down with a fever last night. No wonder she felt like shit when she woke up that morning. The Warners were still asleep which was actually a good thing. Maybe the thermometer was off or something. The teen tried again after running the instrument under room temperature water. But it still came up with the same reading.

_Dammit..._

A fine time to come down with the flu. Rem quickly went to her book bag and started digging through it. A couple of seconds later and after getting a little frustrated, she began emptying the bag. Still, the object of her interest was nowhere to be found.

_Son of a-the one freaking day I forget to pack Advil!_

The bottle of liquid syrup Advil wasn't amongst her usual carry-on items. Now Rem was kinda screwed.

_Unless..._

Rem went back into the bathroom and searched the medicine cabinet. But all she found was various tubes of toothpaste, mouth wash, and other miscellaneous items. No medicine.

_Oh for the love of-haven't at least one of these guys caught the common cold or something?!_

Suddenly, she heard a yawning from outside the bathroom. Yakko was just barely waking up.

_Shit..._

Rem quickly vacated the bathroom, leaving it just as it was before she went into it. As she headed for her bed, Yakko was groggily getting out of his own bed. He didn't seem to notice that she was frantically putting her things back in her book bag. Which was a good thing. The elder Warner walked like a slug towards the bathroom as Rem watched. When the door shut, the teen buried herself into the sheets of her bed.

_Maybe if I just stay indoors and tank up on the Vitamin C, I'll be okay..._

XXXXXXX

Later that morning, Rem was on the couch downing hot green tea while the Warners zipped towards every corner of the interior of the Water Tower decorating for the holidays. She never seen anyone so excited or enthusiastic about a single holiday the way they were. Probably a 'Warner' thing.

"Hey Rem, wanna put the star on the tree when we get one?" Wakko asked.

"Perhaps." the teen sighed, fighting the urge to let out a cough.

"What's with you?" Yakko asked, noticing that something wasn't quite right with her.

Rem didn't want her peers to know of her current predicament. For one thing, she didn't want to disrupt their jovial mood. Another reason, which sounded silly-even to her-was that the teen couldn't imagine what kind of remedies they might subject her to. Plus, Rem wasn't quite in the mood to be coddled with either.

"I'm fine." she lied. "I just feel a little off today."

Before Yakko could respond, all their ears twitched to a heavy rumbling noise outdoors. Looking out the stained glass window of the Warners' beloved director, Weed Memblo, the trio saw that a thunder storm had blown in. Thunder had shaken the somewhat darkened sky and rain came showering down on the lot as well as the rest of Burbank. A Gene Kelly impersonator, clad in a black rain coat, fedora, and with an open umbrella, went skipping by.

"Well, so much for gettin' a tree today." Yakko commented.

"Maybe tomorrow." Dot added.

The siblings then marched back to work to at least complete the rest of the interior of the Tower. Yakko took out a big huge box of garland and began unwinding the tinsel.

"Hey Rem, you wanna gimmie a hand with this?" he called out.

His response was silence and a crackling clap of thunder.

"Rem?" Yakko called again.

He peered over his shoulder and saw the teen all curled up in the couch with her form slowly rising and falling. Apparently, in spite of the loud noises outdoors, Rem had fallen fast and sound asleep. This was probably the one time that the elder Warner had ever seen her appear rather peacefully other than looking as if she were at constant war with herself. With a little grin, Yakko pulled out a wool blanket and gently laid it over her.

XXXXXXX

Hours later, the storm ceased and the thick clouds broke apart so they looked like giant cotton balls in the sky. Yakko was eating a sandwich, Dot was at her computer, and Wakko was doing goodness knows what. Rem was still out like a log on the couch and the Warners were about to call her 'Sleeping Beauty'.

Then, there was a knock on their door.

"I'LL GET IT!" the siblings cried in unison.

They tackled each other in a dust cloud all the way to the shield-shaped door, until Wakko emerged as victor. Triumphantly, he answered their visitor which turned out to be the Tiny Toons down below on the lot.

"Hey guys!" Buster called out. "You up for the skating rink?"

The Warners jumped at the opportunity of going out and escaping the Water Tower. Wakko and Dot instantly leapt below, while Yakko stopped in mid-air after remembering that they were nearly forgetting their charge.

"Eeeehhhhhh, one sec."

Yakko zipped right back into the Tower and over to the couch where Rem was still deeply slumbering.

"Rem?" the elder Warner whispered while gently shaking the teen's shoulder. "Rem, wake up."

Suddenly, in a gasping start, Rem jolted awake and slugged Yakko right square in the jaw.

"Oh...shit!" Rem rasped out, after realizing her mistake.

"ACK-Bam! Right in the kisser!" Yakko exclaimed, as he started to tenderly rub his jaw.

Meanwhile, Rem had herself pushed up against the back of the couch in a tightened crouch position.

"Dude, I am so sorry." she apologized. "Did not know that was you."

"Who the heck didja think it was?" Yakko replied, still rubbing his face.

The teen crept over to him to inspect the 'damage' she accidently inflicted on him.

"Didn't make you lose any teeth did I?" she asked with a frown.

"Nah, I'm fine." Yakko replied. "Anyway, Buster and the rest of the gang are headin' for the skating rink. Would you care to join?"

Since she was so focused on determining whether or not she really hurt him, that she nearly forgot the whomping headache she had.

"Um..sorry, Warner." Rem mumbled. "I'm gonna have to declined."

"Lemme guess," Yakko said with a sarcastic frown while folding his arms. "..you hate skating."

"Not really. I wouldn't mind skating if I didn't have such a balance problem. If it's ice skating then yes, I don't like ice skating."

Yakko blinked a little.

"Wait a minute." he said. "_You_ have a balance problem?"

"Yes, I have a balance problem." Rem retorted. "Why the hell do you think I'm practicing yoga?"

"So I take that as a definite no."

"Yeah, sorry. But I'll make myself and clean up a little around here."

Rem slid off the couch as Yakko shrugged his shoulders.

"Suit yourself." the elder Warner said.

"See ya." Rem replied.

With that, Yakko went back outside to join his siblings and the Tiny Toons.

"Hey, where's Rem?" Wakko asked.

"She's stayin' home today." his older brother told him.

"What happened to your chin?" Dot asked after noticing it was slightly bruised.

"Ehhhh...we'll talk about it later."

XXXXXXX

The very next morning, the first thing Rem did when she woke up was to check her temperature.

98.6. Her flu had gone down a little in the last 18 hours.

_Yes..thank you..._

If she could stay in for one more day, perhaps she would be in the clear tomorrow.

Meanwhile, her peers noticed that she was intentionally keeping a distance away from them and practically everyone else. For her, it was because she didn't want to infect anybody else. The last thing Rem wanted on her hands was starting an epidemic. Another thing that struck the Warners as odd was the fact that she continuously wore her hoodie wherever she went. Even indoors. Though thankfully, they never thought to put two and two together. With any hope, it would stay that way at least until Rem wasn't feverish anymore.

Today there was a buzz around the Warner lot. There seemed to be an employee going back and forth anywhere you'd look. The Warner siblings looked on curiously and were later joined with Rem.

"Lemme guess." she said. "They're filming a would-be blockbuster."

"Nice guess, but no." Dot told her. "They're dressing up one of the soundstages for the Christmas slash End of the Year party tomorrow."

"Oh, I see."

_Freaking great. I hate social gatherings..._

"I think you're gonna love it, Rem." Yakko said. "They get Ralph to dress like Santa Claus."

_Now that might be interesting to see..._

"Nice." Rem replied.

She started back towards her spot on the couch when Wakko suddenly zipped in front of her with his arms folded. Rem raised an eyebrow. Something was up.

"Okay I'll bite. What is this?" she asked.

"We're gonna get our tree today, Rem." Dot said.

"Good for you."

"Hold it, you're coming with us." Yakko said.

"Why?" Rem asked.

"Because it's a family affair and we insist that you come with us. Besides we let ya stay home yesterday."

"Hold on, I thought the decorating thing was a family affair."

"It's both." Dot told her with a grin.

"So what we're getting at here, is that you guys are gonna drag me outta here whether I like it or not just so we can find a dang tree."

"Very good, Rem." Yakko said as he and his siblings smirking playfully.

_Fuck..._

"I hate when you guys make me do stuff." the teen muttered.

"We love you too, Rem." the Warners cooed in unison.

_Screw you..._

xxxxxxx

A few minutes later, the quartet, after making certain the cost was clear escaped the Water Tower. Then, they escaped the Studio lot altogether. Rem was sort of struggling to keep up because she was still sort of under the weather. And speaking of which, the air outdoors for her was near unbearable. It felt as if it was practically biting at her skin. So much so, that Rem was beginning to question the usefulness of her hoodie.

_Urgg, this sucks!_

"So Einstein, what insane hardware store are we getting this friggin' tree?" the teen questioned.

"We don't get fake trees, Rem." Yakko told her. "We get real ones."

"Okay, fine. Doesn't really matter, but whatever..."

"Whaddya mean it doesn't matter?" Wakko asked.

"Well, they're both flammable, they both make a mess and the only good thing about a real tree is the fact that it has a nice pine scent to it."

"Well then you won't mind takin' home a real tree, Rem." Yakko commented.

Soon, quartet arrived at a small outdoor bazaar war which was filled to the corners with Christmas trees. A shivering Rem raised an eyebrow at the name of the shop.

_Must everything we come across be labeled 'Acme'..?_

"Come siblings!" Yakko declared. "Let's get our tree!"

_And get the freaking hell out of here..._

The quartet went around the bazaar searching for the 'right one'. It made Rem increasingly irritated the longer it took for them to make up their minds. Finally they, or rather Wakko, found a tree that was good enough for them to take home. Wakko then whipped out a chainsaw to cut it down and placed a planter on the edge of the trunk in record time. Yakko and Dot were jovially watching when they suddenly heard a harsh cough coming from Rem, who was obviously trying to hide it.

"Whoa, Rem, are you okay?" Yakko asked.

"Yeah, that didn't sound too good." Dot added.

"I'm fine. I just got something caught in my throat." Rem rasped insistently while taking a step back.

"GOT IT!" Wakko announced.

The tree was all tied down and ready to be shipped out. Rem breathed a sigh of relief.

xxxxxxx

Later that day the four of them started decorated the tree they brought home. The Warners, apart from zipping back and forth with ornaments and tinsel, noticed that Rem got ivery/i quiet once they got back. A little too quiet even for her. And if anything drove the Warners absolutely nuts was silence.

"Say Rem." Yakko said.

"...hmmm?" Rem answered softly.

"What's goin' through that head of yours?"

That made Rem's pop up.

"The hell are you talking about?" she questioned.

"Rem, I know you've got the gears in yer cranium turning when you're not talking."

"Uh, bullcrap. There's plenty of times where I don't think."

"So are you thinking right now?"

Rem was about to speak when she realized that he had put her on the spot again.

"Dammit Warner, why do you do that to me?!" she cried.

"Well for one thing, it's better than watching you look like a sad-sack."

Rem fumed for a moment as Yakko grinned mischievously.

"Look, it's just really bad memories that I **DON'T** wanna talk about." Rem said. "Now willya get the hell off my back?"

"Are ya sure you don't want to talk about it?" Yakko replied.

"No. Never."

"So you're not sure?"

Rem started shaking her hand in a fit of suppressed rage.

"Warner, you are dangerously close to seriously pissing me off." she hissed.

"Oh relax willya?" Yakko told her while patting her shoulder.

Rem frowned poutingly while Wakko and Dot emitted muffled giggles.

XXXXXXX

101.5

Rem stared at the thermometer in disbelief. Her flu jumped three and a half levels last night. She really hoped that the reason she felt really bad after waking up was just a morning thing.

_Freaking dammit. Just what I need right now..._

Now Rem had problem. That Christmas party that the Warners were talking about was going to be that afternoon. And there was no question about her going along with them. At least not without revealing her illness to them.

Maybe it would be better if she just told them. But she'd probably also make them miss the 'long awaited' Studio gathering. And Rem didn't want to needlessly cause all that.

_Urgh. What the hell am I gonna do?_


	33. Surfacing Emotions

***Chapter 4: Surfacing Emotions***

In the afternoon, the staff, employees, and actors gathered in Soundstage 23 for the annual End of the Year/Christmas Party. Mr. Plotz grudgingly allowed the Warners to attend despite his great misgivings. Rem reluctantly went with them on the pretense that perhaps a little later she could return to the Tower.

There was a large but modest crowd there, which made Rem nervous because big crowds made her claustrophobic. Not only that, but her sore throat wasn't through bugging her and making her create large and harsh coughs.

"Rem, are you sure you're okay?" Yakko asked.

"I'm alright." Rem insisted. "I just have a scratchy throat this evening."

"Wanna cough drop?" Wakko offered.

"No thanks, I'm good."

Then, Mr. Plotz took center stage behind a wooden podium with the Warner Bros. Shield logo in the middle.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." the CEO announced. "I'd like to say welcome to the studio's 89th Christmas and End of the Year Celebration. Continue the good work and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."

Then the people broke out into applause as he left the podium.

"He sure is a guy of a few words, ain't he?" Rem pointed out.

"That's Thad Plotz for ya." Yakko quipped.

Soon everyone in the Soundstage was mingling and schmoozing with other people. Talking and rambling about random stuff like movie locations and contracts. Also there was Slappy Squirrel and the Tiny Toons. Rem later found Dr. Scratchansniff there still wearing his Santa hat.

"Hello keedz!" he greeted cheerfully. "Merry Chreesmas!"

"Didja happen to bring any of your holiday baking?" Rem asked out simple curiosity.

"Oh ja! Mein cookies turned out to be a success!"

_Well I guess that work for him..._

xxxxxxx

South of the Soundstage was Yakko, his brother, Buster Bunny, and Plucky Duck were spying a couple of movie stars.

"Hey guys, look, it's Val Kilmer!" Buster pointed out.

"Who's he?" Wakko asked.

"He's the guy that replaced Michael Keaton in the Batman movies."

"Hmm, wasn't he in _Tombstone_?" Yakko asked while scratching his chin.

"Yup."

"Well at least Val Kilmer doesn't have a lot of lip like Michael Keeton does." Plucky remarked.

xxxxxxx

Babs and Dot had gone to the ladies room to freshen up. They found Slappy washing her hands inside.

"Didja see Mel Gibson out there, Babs?" Dot squealed. "I'm going to marry that man!"

"Meehh, I think I much rather prefer, Tom Cruise, Dot." Babs commented. "But as long as I got Buster, I'm pretty good."

"You girls remind me of a crazy Judy Jetson." Slappy quirked.

Both Dot and Babs gave elderly toon a raised eyebrow. Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open and a frantic looking Rem came rushing in.

"EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME, EXCUSE ME!" she exclaimed.

The teen darted to the handicap stall in such a haste, that she didn't even lock the door behind her. The other three female toons were confused about her behavior, until...

"_BLEEEEAAAAAAKKKKK!_"

Babs and Dot flinched and grimaced as they listened to Rem empty out the content of her stomach.

"Rem, are you okay?" Slappy called out.

"I'm fine!" Rem quickly rasped. "I just ate something didn't agree with me."

She continued to empty out her belly while the others looked on in worry.

"Are you sure you'll be okay, Rem?" Dot asked.

"Yes, I'll be fine!" Rem insisted.

There was a pause as the teen let out a series of coughs.

"Well okay, if you insist." Babs said. "Want to at least bring you some water or something?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks anyway."

With that, the three of them left the ladies' room, but not without Slappy taking one last look back at the handicap stall. A few moments later, Rem came trudging out with her legs slightly shaking. She went to the sink to wash her face and her mouth out. When she looked up at her reflection, she almost flinched.

_Holy crap. I look like hell..._

XXXXXXX

Much later, mostly everyone had gone home for the night. The people that were left were Mr. Plotz, Ralph, Dr. Scratchansniff, Hello Nurse, Slappy, the Tiny Toons, the Warner Quartet, a few of the staff, and a handful of actors that were open for last call. In one of the divided sections of the Soundstage, there was a large table at which Rem, Hampton, and a few celebrities sat. Rem had moved there because it was much quieter.

Rem was not doing so well at the moment. She felt really, really ill at this point after throwing up in the bathroom. She kept her head down a little to prevent other people from seeing how awful she really looked. All the worse, her vision started fading out. Rem tried keeping herself awake by focusing on all the chatter going around. Soon, Dr. Scratchansniff came in to join them. Rem listened as he drummed up a conversation with Joan Rivers. Then everything faded out and disintegrated to black.

WHUMP!

Hampton turned to his right and saw Rem with her head and shoulders limply lying on the table. Her hand knocked over a glass of punch and red liquid slowly seeped, soaked, and stained the whit table cloth.

"Rem?" Hampton called out. "Rem, are you okay?"

The pig tried shaking her shoulder, but she was unresponsive. Dr. Scratchansniff was also alerted to the sound of Rem's head dropping on the table. Since the teen wasn't responding to him, Hampton started to panic.

"D-doctor? I-I think there's something wrong with Miss Rem!" he exclaimed.

Scratchansniff calmly went over to them and examined the teen. By putting a hand to her forehead, he made the discovery of the secret Rem had been trying to keep to herself.

"Oh dear, zhe's got a high feevor." he said.

"Oh my." Hampton replied.

"Come let's get her to za Nursing Building, Hampton."

"Of course!"

Hampton helped the P-sychaitrist take the unconscious Rem out of the Soundstage. While doing so, they passed by a curious Calamity Coyote.

"Oh Calamity, will you give Yakko a message for me?" Hampton asked.

The canine gave a nod.

xxxxxxx

Yakko and Wakko were still hanging around with Buster and Plucky when Calamity came sprinting in.

"Oh hey, Calamity." Buster greeted after noticing him.

The coyote sort of ignored him and went straight to Yakko, tapping him on the shoulder. After getting his attention, he replayed Hampton's message through a whisper to the elder Warner's ear. Immediately, his expression dropped and hardened.

"...WHAT?"

Calamity relayed the message into his ear again with a little more detail.

"What's wrong Yakko?" Wakko asked.

"Go grab Dot and meet me at the Nurse's Office." Yakko told him.

XXXXXXX

"Rem? Rem, wake up, hon..."

"Uggghhhh..."

Rem heard Hello Nurse's voice disturb the silence of unconsciousness and slowly started coming out of that state.

"Ugghhh, what...what the hell happened...?" she rasped.

"You had a little bit of an accident, hon." Hello Nurse explained.

"What kind of _accident_?"

"You fainted." Hampton added.

"...seriously?"

"Well, yes."

Rem was silent.

_If I wasn't feeling like crap right now, I'd say that's freaking awesome..._

"Open up, hon." Hello Nurse said.

She had a thermometer in her hand and Rem reluctantly opened her mouth so she could place it in there. A few moments later, it was taken out.

"103." the blonde haired woman announced.

"...shit." Rem cursed.

"Nurse, vhy don't you geeve Rem zome aspirin, ja?" Dr. Scratchansniff said.

"Nooo...I don't want any..." the teen moaned. "Besides, I can't swallow pills."

"It's alright, hon." Hello Nurse assured her. "We can give you some syrup."

_That shit's worse tho..._

"...okay."

She fell back on the examination table with a frustrated sigh.

"Rem?" Hampton called out. "I had Calamity Coyote tell the Warners about your accident."

Rem's entire being froze in horror and she shot up like a weed.

"Come again?" she rasped.

"They should be on their way right about now." Hampton continued.

"Oh my God..."

"Is there something wrong?"

"No, there isn't. Thank you, Hampton."

Rem flopped herself back onto the table.

_Great. Just great. They're gonna be pissed at me because I repeatedly told them was fine. Well...maybe I can stretch the truth just a little bit..._

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door. Rem's features turned dark.

_And here it comes..._

"Eh, come een?" Scratchansniff said.

The door slammed open, nearly crushing the poor therapist to the wall behind it. In the doorway, was all three of the Warners with rare but serious expressions. Each of them either had their arms folded or on their hips. Rem's features turned darker.

_Yep, I'm in trouble..._

"So _Rem_, ya still feelin' _fine_?" Yakko questioned.

"Not really..." the teen admitted.

Wakko and Dot whirled to her side dressed in a nurse and doctor outfit, and started examining her.

"Jeez Rem, you're as hot as a dynamo!" Dot exclaimed.

"Am I steaming, Dot?" Rem asked sarcastically.

"Alright, let's cut the comedy for a sec." Yakko intervened. "Rem, we gotta talk."

"Yeah, I know." Rem replied with a sigh.

"So? Why didn't you give us a heads up or something?"

"Well, I knew I _had_ something, but I didn't think it was _that_ bad."

"Didn't think huh? What, barfing isn't enough to convince ya?" Dot pointed out.

"I told you, I ate something that made my stomach upset." Rem insisted.

"Here you are, hon." Hello Nurse said, handing the teen a plastic cup of liquid aspirin.

_Ugh God, I freaking hate this stuff..._

Rem, with great reluctance, took down the medicine in one clear shot while curling her fingers tightly around the corner of the cushioned table. A second later, her gut turned and she started to gag.

"Guh-gimmie the water, quick!" she choked.

Hello Nurse did what Rem asked and the teen let the cool liquid run down her throat. She tried to relax so she wouldn't have to throw up again. After feeling her stomach calm down, Rem curled into a crouched position.

"I think I'd like to go back to the Tower now..." she whimpered.

"Uh-huh, I thought so." Yakko said. "Come on, sibs."

"I hope you feel better, Rem." Hampton said.

"J-ja..." Scratchansniff stammered after peeling himself from the wall.

The Warner's took their charge straight back to the Tower. Rem still sensed there was a bit of negativity in the air.

"You're still pissed at me, aren't you?" she muttered.

"Not really." Yakko replied. "We just wish you said something."

"...I'm so used to taking care of myself. Plus, I didn't want to ruin your quote, unquote, _holiday cheer_ or whatever."

"Well you shouldn't let that stop ya."

"Yeah, we always look out for each other." Wakko added.

"And so what if we miss out on one of T.P.'s parties?" Dot said. "We'd always have time for one of our own."

Rem was silent again.

_Good to know..._

XXXXXXX

The next day, Rem's fever went back down due to the medicine she took the night before. That morning turned out to be one of the most interesting she'd ever had in her life. From the crack of dawn, the Warners had been watching her like an owl, barring the teen from drinking her usual morning coffee, and making her substitute it for orange juice or herbal tea. They even prevented her from any activity other than going to use the bathroom. Rem was just waiting for what was going to happen during supper time.

In the mid afternoon, the siblings took it upon themselves to take Rem to the local pharmacy before their routine visit with Dr. Scratchansniff. Unfortunately for Rem, there was a coffee shop right next door and the scent of freshly made lattes and mochas was just inviting.

"Ugghhhhh...can at _least_ have decafe?" Rem begged.

"No." the Warners said altogether.

"Honestly Rem, we gotta do something about this caffeine addiction of yours." Dot said.

"IT'S NOT AN ADDICTION!" Rem cried before emitting a series of coughs.

"We beg to differ." the Warner sister continued.

Rem let out a frustrated huff after clearing her throat. As soon as they got inside the pharmacy, Wakko spied the candy and other sweet and went zipping towards them.

"Oh, I see. _He_ can get jacked up on sugar and not worry about a damn thing." Rem ranted.

"True, but remember, he ain't the one running a 99 degree flu." Yakko playfully replied.

_Freaking dammit..._

Then, when the remaining three proceeded towards the medicine aisle, Dot spotted the magazine shelves with one title bearing a picture of Mel Gibson and sprinted straight to it. Leaving only Yakko and Rem.

"Honestly, from a female perspective, I don't get all the hype for dude like that." Rem retorted.

"Well, he's a movie star, Rem." Yakko replied pointedly, somewhat growing weary at the fact that the teen just wasn't getting into the scheme of things.

"Big whoop."

They finally got to the medicine aisle and Rem wasn't quite happy with her options.

"Oh look Rem," Yakko said in a sing-song tone. "cherry flavor syrup."

"Ugggh..." the teen muttered in disgust. "I'd rather get my wisdom teeth pulled."

"Oh lighten up willya? How 'bout grape?"

Rem turned towards him and walked over to the medicinal syrups.

I guess I can tolerate grape." she sighed. "Better than bubble-gum."

xxxxxxx

Nearly a half an hour later, the quartet arrived back at the Studio, conveniently when Ralph was on his break and 15 minutes before their session with Dr. Scratchansniff.

"So what's the shrink gonna talk to us about, this time?" Rem sniffled.

"Aww, no ya don't." Yakko intervened, yanking the teen backwards by her tail. "You're on sick leave."

"...I am?" Rem asked blankly.

"That's right, young lady." Dot told her. "So you get your fanny up that Tower."

"Okay, okay, I'm goin'..."

_Jesus...might as well be Grams..._

"Don't worry, Rem." Yakko assured her while ruffling her spiked-up looking bangs. "We'll be back to annoy ya before you know it. That and Wakko will be making his special kind of chicken soup."

"Oh goodie..." Rem muttered darkly.

The elder Warner watched her go up the ladder and into the Water Tower. When he turned his back and started towards the Psychiatry Building, he was halted by his two siblings. They both had their arms crossed and tapping their feet, looking as if their elder brother had done something naughty.

"What?" Yakko asked blankly.

"We saw that" Wakko accused.

"Saw what?"

Then a sneaky grin stretched across Dot's face.

"You _like_ her don't you?" she teased.

"HUH?!" Yakko cried, flabbergasted.

"Aww, come on Yakko, admit it!" Dot exclaimed. "You've been trailing around her like a lost puppy."

"Okay, where the HECK is this coming from?"

"You even stopped saying 'Hello Nurse' for a long time." Wakko pointed out.

"That's ridiculous!" Yakko protested. "I've just hadn't gotten around to it, that's all."

Just then, the busty blonde herself came walking down the lot.

"See, there she goes right now." the elder Warner said quickly. "HEEEELLLOOOO, NURSE!"

"Boy, that had no feeling in it whatsoever." Dot teased.

Yakko started to fume.

"Oh for cryin' out loud." he moaned as he face palmed. "Okay yes, I like her. She's different, in a wacked out sorta way. But that doesn't mean I _like-like_ her."

"_Suuuure._" Dot mused sarcastically as Wakko giggled.

"I'M SERIOUS!" Yakko ranted.

"Uh-huh."

The argument continued all the way into Scratchansniff's office.

* * *

**AN: Okay, before y'all go on a million freaking tangents, I am NOT confirming OR denying anything at this point. I'll let you speculate. I know what will happen in the end and you guys will just have to read on and find out for yourselves.**

**MWO HA HA HA HA HA!**


	34. Denial's Always the 1st Stage

**AN: Good news, everyone. I has only 2 weeks of school left before summuh break! Which means faster updates :D Plus this chapter marks one year since I started this fic. Huzzah!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

***Chapter 5: Denial's Always the 1st Stage***

"Zo, vhat zeems to be za problem children?" Dr. Scratchansniff asked as he sat in his arm chair.

The Warner siblings were seated on the therapy couch with Wakko and Dot appearing dignified. Yakko on the other hand, was looking rather annoyed. When the P-sychiatrist asked his question, both Wakko and Dot erupted into stifled giggled.

"Nothing's wrong Otto, we're just _peachy_." Yakko growled while folding his arms.

"Hmmmm, I zeem to theenk othervise." Scratchansniff said.

"Yakko's gotta crush!" Dot teasingly sang.

"Put a sock in it, Dot." Yakko muttered.

"Eez thees true, Yakko?" the Studio Shrink asked in a interested manner.

"No, it ain't." Yakko denied.

"Eet's okay, Yakko. There's no need to be zhy..."

"THERE'S NOTHIN' TO TELL!"

"My, my, my, but aren't we getting quite angry?" Dot teased.

"Another word about this and it's tofu for supper tonight!" Yakko threatened.

"Heh!"

"You know, Yakko, eet's really notheeng to be ashamed of.." Scratchansniff pointed out.

"Urrggghh, can we PLEASE change the subject, here?" the elder Warner cried, putting a hand to his face.

"Oh, alright." the P-sychiatrist sighed. "Now Wakko und Dot, you mustn't tease your bruther about zuch theengs. It'll hurt his zelf esteem."

"Yeah, so there. Nggghh!" Yakko added as he stuck his tongue out at his siblings.

"Oh really?" Dot replied raising her brow, and folding her arms with Wakko mimicking her. "Well let's just see what Slappy's got to say!"

xxxxxxx

Minutes later, all three of the Warners were at Slappy Squirrel's doorstep. Although the elder toon usually hated having company, she didn't mind having them visit.

"So, what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked as she popped open a can of soda pop. "The kid ain't getting into more trouble is she?"

"Nope." Dot replied curtly.

"Actually, Rem's becoming a little more, oh how shall we say, _docile_?" Yakko added.

"Oh sure, like _he_ should know." Dot cracked, pointing her thumb at her eldest brother while her second eldest brother started laughing.

"Oh _please_..." Yakko sigh, rolling his eyes.

Slappy, with her signature uncaring features, arched a brow.

"Do I sense a problem here?" she asked in her 'get to the point' tone.

"No, no problem." Dot answered angelically. "'Scept Yakko might have a crush on Rem ~cough cough~."

Yakko dropped his head on the squirrel's kitchen table face down as there was a brief moment of silence.

"Pay up." Slappy told her nephew who was standing beside her chair. "It happened."

"Awww, shoot." Skippy groaned as he started reaching around his hammer-space pocket for a quarter.

Yakko's head shot up in total disbelief.

"YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS?!" he exclaimed.

"Warner, ever since I saw you and the kid buttin' heads like a couple of angry cats, I was just waitin' for this."

"Well this is just a fine 'how do ya do'." Yakko growled drumming his fingers along the surface of the table. "Look, I'm only gonna say this once, I just _like_ Rem. I _don't_ like-like her."

"Eh, whatever. I never enjoyed romance anyway." Slappy said cynically.

Yakko had a flabbergasted expression on his face, while Wakko, Dot and Skippy looked as if the near ancient squirrel wasn't any help at all.

XXXXXXX

Later that day, the Warners finally went home to their Water Tower only to find their charge watching a reality TV show that involved a crew searching for ghosts. The trio came walking one by one towards the couch the teen planted had herself on.

"Who's the guy with the spiky hair?" Wakko asked.

"Uhhh, I think his name is either Zak or Nick." Rem murmured. "I don't really know..."

"Hmmmm, how much you wanna bet that he uses lots of hair gel?" Dot said critically.

"He probably does." Rem said. "You can't get spikes like that with frickin' hair spray."

There was a pause as they watched the action going on the screen. Then the three men on the program that Rem was watching started shouting and screaming with the camera's swerving around. The Warners all raised their brows while Rem just had her normal deadpan expression.

"Rem, what the heck are we watching?" Yakko retorted.

"A show where three guys are apparently trying to hunt for ghosts." Rem droned before blowing her nose into a Kleenex.

"Really?" Wakko asked while scratching his cap covered head. "Where's their proton packs?"

"Not _Ghostbusters_, Wakko."

"No foolin'. That guy with the spikey hair could never pass for Bill Murray." Yakko remarked. "Or Dan Aykroyd."

"You know, I think the question we all shoulda asked before was _why are we watching this_?" Dot pointed out.

"Yeah, really. I think I just lost a couple of brain cells." Yakko complained.

"Fine." Rem sighed lazily. "I'll go back to what I was watching before."

She took the remote control and flipped the channel. It was a silent movie with a man in a derby hat and going around with a cane.

"Ooooo, Chaplin!" Yakko purred as he and his siblings hopped onto the couch beside Rem. "Now _here's_ a classic."

A few minutes was spent with all four of them staring straight into the TV set. Until Rem got sleepy from hearing the symphonic music.

"I think I'm gonna brush my teeth and go to bed early." the teen muttered.

"Alrighty." Yakko replied. Then he quickly leaned over to his sister. "Make sure she takes her medicine."

"Right." Dot replied.

The pink clad Warner followed Rem into the bathroom. Rem turned on the faucet and started brushing away at her teeth. Dot zipped right to her side.

"Han I helf uou?" the teen asked through tooth brush bristles and tooth paste foam.

"Ohhhh, nothing much." Dot said sweetly.

Rem's eyebrow sort of arched. She already knew why Dot was in there in the first place. Yakko wanted to make sure the teen took her flu medication.

_Tight ass..._

Then, an evil genius-like plot hatched in Dot's brain.

"So Rem, have you ever had a crush before?" she asked.

"Not really." Rem answered in a no nonsense tone.

"_Really_? There's nobody you like?"

"Nope."

Too bad Rem easily caught onto Dot's girlish teasing.

"So you don't have any crushes huh?" the Warner Sister egged on.

"Not at all." Rem answered again after drowning a small cup with 2 teaspoons worth of flu syrup.

When the teen started to drink down some cool water, Dot decided to kick it up a notch.

"Not even my brother Yakko?" the youngest Warner spat hastily.

Rem's eyes suddenly widened and she choked on the water she was drink, causing her to gag on the liquid and cough harshly into the sink as Dot flinched.

"Dot, if you're gonna kill me, wouldja mind informing me beforehand?" Rem rasped sarcastically with a brow arched. "I hate surprise attacks."

Dot made an annoyed face.

"This might shock you, but I'm being serious." she said casually.

"Dot, please, it's NOT happening. Besides, you and Wakko probably need him more than I."

"Aww, come on, Rem. We can do plenty of things without him."

During that time, Yakko was just passing by when he suddenly overheard Rem and Dot talking to each other and his name being mentioned. Curious, he put an ear to the door to listen.

"Now _I'm_ being serious." the teen told the Warner Sister. "And isn't your brother supposed to be drooling over Michelle Pfeiffer or something?"

"Weeelll, I don't know. That depends." Dot sang in a teasing manner.

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?!"

"Maybe he finds you better than Michelle Pfeiffer."

"I beg to differ."

"Haven't ya noticed that he's been stuck to you like glue?"

Rem froze as her mind started working. Now that Dot mentioned it, the teen suddenly recalled all the times the elder Warner joined up with her and mostly of own free will.

"Well, he's a paranoid smartass." Rem quickly pointed out.

Now that would've normally been a valid answer, but now she was just making excuses out of thin air.

"True, but take it from me Rem, Wakko and I always know when Yakko's onto somethin'. Theoretically speaking..."

"Whatever. It ain't happening. EVER. Are we clear on that?"

Dot gave a shrug. She partly gave up. Clearly it would be impossible to get the both of them to admit the glaring obvious. It would just be better to let nature take its course. Although the Warner Sister mentally admitted to herself that it was gonna be an interesting show to watch.

"Oh well suit yourself." Dot said plainly and dropping the subject.

Meanwhile outside, Yakko had a bit of a sour expression on his face.

_Boy if that ain't salt in the wound, I don't know what is..._

xxxxxxx

Later that night, Rem laid wide awake in bed. Mentally looking back at all the times she was with Yakko with or without his siblings present, she started to noticed and realize what Dot was talking about. The very thought or prospect of Yakko Warner allegedly being attracted to her, simply made Rem feel more physically ill than she already was.

Past memories that had been previously blotted out, started surfacing back up again. Making Rem retreat under the covers of her bed.

How could this have happened? She had been so careful not to let anyone into her bubble of emotions. Or allow anyone get that close to her. She didn't want to travel down that road again. It led her to nowhere but heartache, misery, and depression. And besides, Wakko and Dot _did_ need Yakko more than her because then they wouldn't be the Warner Trio without him. Rem felt like she would be 'stealing' him from them and she just _hated_ feeling that way.

_This shit is NOT happening. Not again..._

XXXXXXX

In the next few days Rem avoided the elder Warner whenever she could. She also tried to not make it look obvious. Unfortunately that didn't seem to slide with the Warner in question. While everyone else was completely oblivious to it, it was glaringly apparent to Yakko. One afternoon, he saw her willfully offer to help Ralph do a security check on the Studio from the Tower, just so she didn't have to be in the same room with him. Although he didn't want to cop to it, but his ego was...well, kinda injured. And the more unfortunate thing was, he didn't know what to do about it. Meanwhile Rem was sort of reverting back to her quiet self.

And she was determined to keep it that way.

The only other person she had to really worry about bringing it up, was Dr. Scratchansniff.

"Rem, are you zure notheeng ees vrong?"

"YES. I'm just fine."

"Ees it about Yakko?"

"NO, it ISN'T."

By the end of the week, Rem was about to consider moving in with Slappy Squirrel and join in her usual gig of chucking dynamite at other people.

Luckily, something came up to divert this horrendous subject back into obscurity where it belonged.

Buster and his gang returned to the Studio one last time before heading home again.

"Hey guys, you wanna head to the park for one more outing?" the sky blue rabbit offered.

"Sure, I'm in." Rem quickly replied, walking past him, Babs, Plucky, and Hampton.

The rest of the Warner trio that were still in the Water Tower above, looked at each other in response to the teen's spontaneous want to socialize and shrugged.

xxxxxxx

At the park, Rem again avoided Yakko and stayed much in the company of Wakko instead. At least _this_ Warner brother didn't have a crush on her. They were later joined by Buster and Babs. The weather that morning was rather pleasant. It was enough for Rem to tolerate and not break into shivers.

"Too bad it's not snowing tho." she said aloud to Buster, Babs, and Wakko.

"Why's that?" Babs asked.

"I really feel like blowing up a snowman..."

"You mean like those crazy people on _America's Funniest Home Videos_?" Buster also asked.

"Yeah..."

"Eh, that's not a bad show." Babs commented. "I _kinda_ like Bob Saget."

"I only like the funny voices he makes." Wakko added.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake beneath their feet. Then an arsenal appeared out of the bushes with Montana Max as the pilot. Rem was a bit flustered and confused to see him.

"What...the...hell is this?" she retorted.

"This park is mine, losers!" Max declared. "Go hang out somewhere else!"

Then he fired a projectile at the group to which Rem suddenly panicked.

"DON'T MOVE!" she shouted at the two rabbits and the middle Warner behind her.

Then within seconds, Rem whipped out her katanna from her hammer-space and sliced the projectile in two. The severed pieces flew past the four youngsters and exploded moments later. Both Buster and Babs were awestruck, however Max was none too happy.

"H-HEY! YOU CAN DO THAT!" he exclaimed.

Rem remained planted in her position with her sword out.

_You think not?_

Then, the guard that Slappy had put on the weapon appeared back on the edge of the blade. Kinda like disappearing and reappearing ink.

_Aww, damn. I forgot all about that..._

"Wow Rem, that was _cool_." Buster marveled.

"Just like in those samurai movies." Babs added.

"Uhhh, thanks? I guess?" Rem stammered.

Then she turned towards Wakko.

"You're not gonna tell your brother about this, are ya?" she whispered to him.

Wakko put on his signature gooky face for a moment and then grinned.

"Naaaah..." he said.

"Nobody does that to me!" Max shouted from his arsenal.

The boy proceeded to launch more projectiles in an effort to clear the area for himself. The small group scattered about to avoid getting hit.

"Alright, now this dude's pissing me off." Rem growled.

She spotted a weak point in Max's arsenal and threw her sword at it. The force of impact knocked out a vital screw in the machine which caused the whole thing to literally fall to pieces.

"All right, Rem!" Buster cheered.

"For the record, there's 1001 uses for that thing." Rem said.

"What are they?" Wakko asked.

"I'd tell you, but we'd be here all week."

Max crawled out of the wreckage of his arsenal all dizzy and with a ring of stars circling around his head.

"Ugggghhh...what happened?" he sputtered.

"Serves ya right, Monty." Babs scolded.

"Wait till everyone else at Acme Acres hears you got your butt kicked by a girl." Buster quirked.

"AND YOU KNICKED MY BLADE, YOU LITTLE ASSHOLE!" Rem shouted after discovering a blemish on her sword when recovering it from the debris.

Wakko, sensing Rem's vengeful side popping out, quickly zipped to her side, and started pushing her towards the direction opposite of Max.

"Okay Rem, that's enough fun for one episode." he told her smoothly.

Rem suppressed a growl and put her weapon back in her hammer-space.

XXXXXXX

That evening, the Warner Bros. Studio and the Warners themselves bid the Tiny Toons goodbye before they boarded the bus to Acme Acres.

In the Water Tower, the siblings were sat around the kitchen table playing a card game while Rem was all the way across the room sitting on her bed gingerly overlooking her katanna. She had been tenderly inspecting it since they all got home.

"Rem, willya quit mopin' over there for cryin' out loud?" Yakko called out.

The teen scowled for a bit and then went over to join her peers at the kitchen table.

* * *

**And thus ends Act V. Just a note for future reference, if I only post one song in the song list whether or not I feature more songs in the chapters, that'll mean that, that song covers the whole Act if that makes sense. Oh yes, a cookie goes to whomever guesses correctly what ghost hunting show I referenced in this chap ;)**

**=Song List=**

**-Mad World by Gary Jules**

**-Eyes on Fire by Blue Fountain**

**-A White Demon Love Song by The Killers**

**-Darkwood 2 by David Darling**

**-Still I'm Sad by The Yard Birds**

**-I Am by Drowning Pool**

**-Tiny Toon Adventures Theme**


	35. Interlude 5

**AN: Hey y'all! School is out, my other two fics are finished, now I can fully concentrate on this story :) This is pretty much my take on the _Super Strong Warner Siblings _episode. I hope you enjoy it ^^**

* * *

***Interlude 5***

One bright sunny day, the Warner Trio was at a ribbon ceremony in front of a new city park.

"I hereby declare this park, open!" Yakko announced.

He cut the red ribbon and then the audience of children cheered shortly before they rushed forward to use the swings and jungle gym. The city commissioner trotted over to the Warners as soon as the excitement slightly dissipated.

"Say, you kids were great!" he exclaimed. "How 'bout you open the new museum next week?"

"Will there be cake?" Wakko asked.

"Oh sure. All the cake you can eat!"

"You got yourself a deal there, Mr. Hans." Yakko said. "Here, have a bag of money."

The city commissioner's eyes sparkled.

"Oh you kids sure are something!" he said jovially.

The Warners just turned to each other and shared a laugh.

~Meanwhile, in Space~

Planted right on the moon was a small station-like palace. Inside was a large woman clad in magenta and violet, and a huge turban-like headdress with a nest of swooning vultures in it. She wielded a long crescent moon staff. With her, was a Scottish terrier dressed in a kilt and hat, a hog wearing a soldier outfit and an elf-like creature clad in a wizard outfit.

The Lady was in rage.

"OOOO, CURSE THOSE GOODY TWO-SHOE WARNERS!" she ranted. "I WANT TO GET THEM SO BADLY, BUT HOW I'M WONDERING?"

"How 'bout we send another giant monster or something?" the Pig Guard suggested.

"NO! THAT WON'T WORK! NOTHING EVER WORKS!"

The Lady furiously stomped over to her throne and sat down on it, squishing the little furry animal that was snoozing on the red velvet cushion. After a few minutes of her brooding on her throne, the Scottish Terrier zipped right over to her in a goofy way.

"Ya know, we could capture the Warners and then hold 'em prisoner or something at least that's what I'm thinkin'." he said in a lazy manner.

The Lady thought for a second and then suddenly sprung to her feet, knocking over the Terrier with her staff.

"YES! THAT'S QUITE A PLAN!" she exclaimed. "WE'LL LURE THE WARNERS INTO A TRAP AND THEN VICTORY SHALL BE OURS! MWO HA HA HA HA HA!"

Her loyal minions zipped to her side and maniacally laughed along with her.

~Planet Earth~

The Warners were still at the new park when the ground below their feet began to shake. Suddenly, a giant creature emerged from the Earth and roared to life. The citizens screamed in fright and ran frantically about. The Warners however stood casually as the creature proceeded to tear everything apart.

"Well sibs, looks like we got a job to do." Yakko said.

"Right!" the trio declared together.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

The trio transformed into animal oriented uniforms that were white and a specific color attributed to them.

"Power of the Blowfish!" Yakko cried.

"Power of the Anteater!" Wakko exclaimed.

"Power of the Platypus!" Dot declared.

Then, Yakko was in a blue and white uniform with a blowfish-like mask, Wakko in a red and white uniform with an anteater-like mask, and Dot in a yellow and white uniform also sporting a skirt with a platypus-like mask. They stood defiantly against the creature before them.

"Right!" the trio declared again.

"Okay sibs, let's-"

Before Yakko could finish, the creature smacked them with a sticky tentacle and pulled them into its body. The Warners were now stuck in a tank-like section in the creature's midriff which was filled with thick pink goo.

"Eeeew, gross." Dot grimaced.

"Hey, this is like swimming in jello!" Wakko marveled.

"Very smelly jello." Yakko pointed out.

The creature, letting out a final roar, teleported away.

~Space~

The Lady and her minions waited in a large room in their 'palace' and her creature came back with the Warners in tow. The trio was then dumped onto the floor covered in pink slime.

"I'VE GOT YOU IN MY CLUTCHES WARNERS! MWO HA HA HAAAA!"

"There's a shocker..." Yakko sarcastically replied.

"You think maybe she'll do horrible things to us?" Dot asked in the same manner as her brother.

"Maybe..." Wakko responded.

"NOW I JUST HAVE TO DESSTORY YOU AND THEN NOTHING WILL STAND IN MY WAY!" the large woman declared triumphantly.

Then the Warners were confronted with sharp and dangerous looking machinery meant to give painful torture. Yakko raised an eyebrow.

"Eeeehhhhh, I think we could use a little back up."

xxxxxxx

~Planet Earth~

"Hey, guys!" Rem called out as she stepped into the Water Tower. "I got..."

Then she noticed and sensed that she was alone.

"Guys?"

Still no answer. The Tower was quiet as the night.

"Huh, I guess they're out somewhere." Rem mused. "Oh well..."

She was about to turn the opposite direction where she heard a voice call out to her.

"Rem! _Reeeeeemm!_"

The teen too notice and followed the voice to its owner and stopped dead when she found it.

"...Dr. Otto Scratchansniff?!" Rem asked blankly while in a deep stare.

The p-sychiatrist, or rather his head, was inside a tube with his mouth all fuzzy. Surrounding the base of the tube was a whole bunch of computer consoles.

"Oh Rem!" Scratchansniff exclaimed in relief. "I'm zo glade you're here. Ve have an emergancee."

"We..we do?" Rem asked totally dumbstruck.

"Ja! Za Zuper Ztrong Varners are een trouble! They need your help!"

When the studio shrink showed her the Warners in their uniforms, the teen was finally able to make out the significance of Dr. Scratchansniff's head being in a tube and put two and two together.

_...you have got to be freaking kidding me._

"Oh no. No, no, no, you're not involving me in this." Rem said.

"Please Rem!" Scratchansniff protested. "Zere's no time! You must help zem!"

"Well, can't they...I don't know, do their usual routine of pissing other people off?"

"Then ve vould have no plot."

Rem pinched the bridge of her nose.

"...jesus christ..." she muttered.

"Come along Rem, you must transform!" the therapist insisted, showing a diagram of a uniform similar to what the Warners were wearing.

Rem suppressed a growl. She was literally about to throw a fit.

"...Fine." she muttered. "But I'm not wearing a flipping mask, got it?!"

"Got it." Scratchansniff replied.

He ejected a small gold shield from the computer console and the teen took it. When she touched it, a bright lavender light enveloped her.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

As the light dimmed to nothing, Rem was outfitted with a white and light violet uniform. Around her waist was a skirt with spear-like folds. Sprouting from her back were very dark purple dragon-like wings.

"Congratulations!" Scratchansniff exclaimed. "You have za power of za dragon!"

"Huzzah..." Rem said unenthusiastically.

"I vill now transport you to ze Varners' location." the p-sychiatrist said.

"Cool..."

~Space~

The siblings in question were tied together in layers of rope upside down and being lowered into a vat of bubbling chemicals.

"SAY YOUR PRAYERS, WARNERS!" the Lady shouted with glee as her minions chortled.

"We would, but it isn't Sunday." Dot quipped.

"Plus that and it isn't even our bed time yet." Yakko added.

The Lady grinded her teeth at their jokes but before she could verbally retaliate or utter a curse at the trio, a flash of light appeared in the room. Standing in its place was Rem.

"WHAT?! A FOURTH WARNER?!" the Lady screamed as her minions stared in shock.

"Well, if it isn't Lil' Miss Emo." Yakko remarked.

"Shut the hell up. You jerks owe me big when this is over." Rem growled.

"Hey, Rem!" Wakko called out. "Are you Bat Girl?"

"Uhhhh, no..."

"Duuuh, actually I think she looks like a Dragon." the Pig Guard said thoughtfully.

"THANK YOU." Rem ranted.

"ENOUGH!" the Lady shrieked. "GET HER!"

"As if..."

Rem reached into her hammer space for her katanna and swiped out a weapon like a missile. It cut through the rope holding the Warners and nailed itself to the wall with the trio dangling from it.

"Well that was something." Yakko quipped.

Then Rem noticed that the sword she pulled out wasn't her katanna, but an Excalibur-like weapon with a deep purple handle and a white ribbon flowing from it. The teen however was not pleased and was nearly ready to explode.

"What the fuck?! That's not my baby!" she exclaimed.

"Gee, I don't know Rem. It's got a face only a mother could love." Dot said sarcastically.

Before Rem could answer to the Warner Sister's remark, the Pig Guard jumped down and started menacing her with a spiked mace.

"Heh, heh, heh, without your sword, you can't stop me." he leered.

"Oh yeah?" Rem countered.

The Pig Guard started swinging the mace at her, but she was easily dodging it as she backed off. Then she grabbed ahold of his wrist and gave a roundhouse kick to the face, knocking him a good three feet away her and causing him to crash into his fellow minions.

"BUT I CAN STILL KICK YOUR ASS!" Rem proclaimed.

Meanwhile, the Warners were able to get out of the layers of rope like slipping out of a sleeping bag. No sooner than they had freed themselves, the siblings were confronted by the evil Lady's nerd-like warriors.

"Right!" the Warners declared.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

Rem suppressed another growl.

_I swear to God, if I have to hear that song one more time, I'm gonna freak..._

Both the warriors and the Warners exchanged Ninja poses until the grey clad men swan-dived at the Toons. Only to be swatted away by giant tennis rackets.

"So, joining the Spandex Crew?" Yakko quipped suavely as he and his brother and sister joined Rem.

"Dude, I can hardly breathe in this frickin' thing!" the teen ranted. "And I like to add that I hate European blades with a passion."

She held up the sword that she used to cut them down with.

"Why?" Wakko asked while scratching his head.

"Because they suck. By the way, just out of curiosity, just who are we gonna rip on next? The TMNT?!"

"Who?" Dot asked.

"Ooooo! CURSE YOU WARNERS!" the Lady shrieked while stomping up and down.

"You're just jealous that we have a theme song and yooouuu dooon't." Dot sneered.

"Is that a nest of condors on that woman's head?" Rem asked in dumbstruck confusion.

"OH, I'LL GET YOU WARNERS! IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!"

Then the Lady turned her staff on herself and in the ensuing explosions, she grew as tall as a skyscraper.

"MWO HA HA HA HA!"

"Well, she's at least 120 feet tall. Now what?" Rem said.

"Time for the big guns." Yakko said. "Wakko, if you please."

"Right!" the middle Warner responded.

He pressed a button on his wrist and within minutes, the Water Tower rocketed itself to space and on the moon. Then it mechanically morphed itself a fighting transformer.

"Dude, tell me that's not the Water Tower..." Rem moaned.

"Okay, it isn't." Yakko sarcastically quipped.

"HA HA HA HA! YOU THINK YOUR PATHETIC LIL' TOY WILL BE ENOUGH TO STOP ME?!" the Lady cackled.

"Come on, sibs!" Yakko shouted.

"Right!" his siblings exclaimed before the three of them leapt into their now arsenal Tower.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

"Rem!" Dot called out. "You coming?"

"Do I have a choice?" Rem asked frankly.

"No." the Warners said together.

The teen moaned out a frustrated sigh before being beamed aboard the Tower.

"Alright, let's kick this crazy chick's butt so we can go home." Rem droned.

"Right!" the Warners declared.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

"Arrgghh, can we mute the damn song already?!" Rem exclaimed.

"TAKE THIS WARNERS!" the Lady shouted.

She fired a red destructive laser at the arsenal Tower, knocking it down to the ground. The quartet nearly fell out of their seats from the impact.

"I think I just got whiplash..." Rem muttered.

Wakko pressed a button which summoned the Tower Arsenal's sword and shield. With its weapons, they were ready to fight.

"Right!"

They charged at the Lady and started fencing between power sword and magical staff. They battled across the moon trying to push the other to the ground. As they went across the lunar wilderness, the Tower accidently trampled the site of the first moon landing. Finally, the Toon quartet charged up the Tower's sword to give the last blow.

"Here we go!" Yakko exclaimed.

The Tower swung the power sword at the Lady, sending a shining blue wave in its wake. She let out a shriek as she was reduced to the size of an insect.

"OOOO, CURSE YOU WARNERS!" the Lady screeched as she threw down her staff and started jumping up and down.

"Right!" the Warners cried out.

"Ugh, finally. I thought she'd never shut up." Rem retorted.

_Super Strong Warner Siblings!_

_Hey, hey, Super Sibs!_

"AARGGGH! ENOUGH WITH THE FUCKING SONG ALREADY!"

The Warner siblings quickly planted a 'CENSORED' tape around her mouth.

"You need to chill, Rem." Dot commented sweetly.

"The song's not all bad." Wakko added.

Rem started quietly pouting in her seat.

_Of course since it's annoying, they'd love it..._


	36. Act VI Prelude

***Act VI***

_It's time for Animaniacs! And we're_

_zany to the max. So just sit back and _

_relax, you'll laugh 'till you collapse._

_We're Animaniacs!_

_Come join the Warner Brothers, and the_

_Warner sisters, Rem and Dot. Just for _

_fun, we run around the Warner movie lot._

_They lock us in the Tower, whenever we get_

_caught. But we break loose, and then _

_vamoose, and now you know the plot!_

_We're Animaniacs!_

_Dot is cute and Yakko yacks. Rem's the_

_Emo kid, while Wakko still packs away_

_the snacks. _

_We're Animaniacs!_

_Meet Pinky and the Brain who want to rule_

_the Universe. Goodfeathers flock together, _

_Slappy whacks 'em with her purse. Buttons_

_chases Mindy, while Rita sings a verse. The_

_writers' flipped, we have to script, why _

_bother to rehearse?_

_Yeah, seriously?_

_We're Animaniacs! _

_We have pay for play contracts. We're zany_

_to the max, there's baloney in our slacks!_

_We're Animan-y, totally insane-y!_

_Pinky and the Brain-y!_

_Ani-Mani-Acs! That's all the facts!_

_Yeah, whatever..._

* * *

**AN: This was pretty much improvised. I apologize if it sounds sucky T-T**


End file.
